iliiiilill

Sy^ffilr^Hl'

\ ^ ; , ^ ,/ |f%

ism j'w

«%

-A

THE

(v R f^ ^ ^ Jervtno as a

rrvuii/ as a

Jfonn nation tor tbr
( ( BARON CUTIMm. ' >

)

I ', '/hv / / //'''<'' of *'•"' -'"?">( r/. /I,',/,'"/. i, •>',/■!/■ A; ,'/-■ ifate-.Bf, //r,,/ 77 e/tn#. H/n/ai
i ' (i'i'/i/-'' c/ ■ y'n '■',,- . ',/.,'/} i/?/n >,t.t'ttt-t'f fat ■ Tpttye/tae -Af/it-t/ . tcademy., /s,'///",''
■ 'f/-;,-/t>'/ 1/ /" tnt ■ tcaaemy-efi. 'r>< /trc./,.. Wewwtltfrtat . i,-t>/eii/'i-> ,\. ntruat', 'Afcie£a> /■/

L'e'/l<U /'/ / /-/ri,j'/n)y,i.. /Wi.:'if'„i. <Ju 7',, J ;/> ,t '•"/,/,//,'//,■,.///,■,/,/,■ .. /r f / ■ ,i,/t- ,i ■ A' -

rt'ii/J.. ///</,//<■■ fur . Ve ','i't'i '(',/, 0,,\ (,i/fi/// f > ,) ,'/ //>,_' 'i,/,/irtiii ■ 'sr'f , /ir/-'(>>//f.-< ! '

the ~-> ~\ -v_ ^

eta, Km* & & Axteti la

ranslarro from the latent fktvucb : oiftou. i

^/^ A I) h t'l' in v A.I, A oH' ES.

-^ ^-^A rind A"^—

- '////.//>?//('?//'// nea '/ /// JfiO . faoctloTUM' < './afcJ.

^w r \ W Ff

Y IP J£g , 11 1

liKl'TILKS- FISHES

^N

. v JrUmdeUmt, 2.UUI-. Maic#i/,-JadatUe .J/,//

AM' SOLD I'.V ALL BOOKSELLERS

L83 I

THE

ANIMAL KINGDOM,

ARRANGED ACCORDING TO ITS ORGANIZATION,

SERVING AS A

FOUNDATION FOR THE

NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS,

INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.

BARON CUVIER,

(Jieal Officer of Ihe Legion of Honour, Counsellor of State, and Member of the Royal Council of Public

Instruction; One of the Forty of the French Academy ; Perpetual Secretary to the Academy of

Sciences ; Member of the Academies and Royal Societies of London, Berlin, Petersburg!!,

Stockholm, Turin, Kdiuburgh, Copenhagen, Gottingen, Bavaria, Modena the

Netherlands, and Calcutta; and of the Linnsean Society of London.

WITH FIGURES DESIGNED FROM NATURE :

THE
BY

M. LATREILLE,

Chevalier of the Legion oi Honour, Member of the Institute, (Royal Academy of Sciences! , and of the ^renter
portion ol other learned Sock-ties in Europe and America-

ErmSXatttf from ttjc latent dfrenri) CBtrttt0ii.

WITH

ADDITIONAL NOTES,

AND

ILLUSTRATED BY NEARLY 500 ADDITIONAL NOTES.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. IT.

LONDON.

G. HENDERSON, 2, OLD BAILEY, LUDGATE-HILL,

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY J. HENDERSON,
21, WATER-LANE, FLEET STREET.

MEMOIR OF LINNAEUS.

Carl Linnaeus, the subject of this Memoir, was born 24th May,
1707, at Rashult, in the province of Smaland, while his father was
still comminster. With an inheritance of his father's love for plants,
and their cultivation, he is thus recorded by one of his pupils : " From
the very time that he first left the cradle, he almost lived in his
father's garden, which was planted with some of the rarer shrubs
and flowers; and thus were kindled, before he was out of his mother's
arms, those sparks which shone so vividly all his lifetime, and latter-
ly burst into such a flame,"

The elder Linnaeus wished, and intended, that his first-born should
succeed him in the office of pastor ; and he endeavoured to regulate
the clerical education of his son, as far as his means would permit.
At the age of seven, Linnseus was placed under the private charge of
John Ziliander ; and two years afterwards was entered to the school
of Wenid ; but in both these places the discipline is said to have been
severe, and not well fitted for the advancement of a young man of his
mild temper, and he was soon after placed under another private tutor,
who possessed a more conciliating disposition. His distaste for ordi-
nary studies could not be so easily overcome; and it was not till three
years after that he received promotion to a higher form in the school,
called the circle. In this rank he was allowed more leisure, which
was invariably devoted to his favourite pursuits, and chiefly his
earliest — that of plants.

According to the systen of education at this time employed in
Sweden, it was necessary that young men should pass from the schools,
or from private teachers, to what is called the gymnasium, where the
higher branches of literature was taught ; and at the age of sixteen,
Linnaeus was placed at this seminary. Here he still continued his
dislike for those studies particularly necessary for a divine ; and be-
gan to show a more decided taste for botany, by forming a small
library of such books as he could procure upon this science, and from

a

IV MEMOIR OF UNNiEUS.

his studious perusal of them, acquired the college name of the ' Little
Botanist.'

Nearly two years after, the elder Linnaeus came to Wenid, to as-
certain the progress of his son's studies ; and the disappointment of
the sanguine hopes of a parent may be conceived, when the recom-
mendations of his preceptors extended only to his ability for some
manual employment ; and the farther expense, in forcing a learned
education, would be comparatively thrown away. The old clergy-
man, having for some time laboured under a complaint which might
have now increased from his anxiety, was obliged to consult Dr. Roth-
man, a provincial physician ; and grieving at the seemingly wayward
and careless disposition of his son, he opened his mind to the doctor,
who kindly prescribed for both his mental and bodily sufferings. He
remarked, that although the boy might be unfit to follow that profes-
sion in which his father Would have wished to have seen him his suc-
cessor, there was the greater hope that some other study would be
more ardently pursued ; that he might yet arrive at eminence in me-
dicine, as being more intimately connected with that branch of his
own choosing ; and he offered to give young Linnaeus board and in-
struction during the year, which it was still necessary he should make
up at the Gymnasium.

The offer of Dr. Rothman was gratefully accepted ; and that gen-
tleman faithfully redeemed his promises. He gave his now willing
pupil instructions in physiology and botany, pointing out the advan-
tages of studying the latter science according to the system of Tour-
nefort. In both Linnteus made considerable proficiency, had already
commenced to arrange every plant in its proper place, and even to
doubt the situations of many whose characters had not been properly
ascertained.

Next year it was thought necessary that Linnaeus should com-
plete his education at some university ; and, upon applying at the
Gymnasium, he received the following metaphorical testimonial,
which will show the little esteem in which his qualifications as a scho-
lar were held ; and is a curious example of the manner in which the
professors worded their certificates : ' Youth, at school, might be com-
pared to shrubs in a garden, which will sometimes, though rarelv,
elude all the care of the gardener : but, if transplanted into a different
soil, may become fruitful trees.' With this view, therefore, and no
other, the bearer was sent to the university, when it was possible that
he might meet with a climate propitious to his progress.

With this certificate he proceeded to the university of Lund ; and
only procured admittance by the interest of his old preceptor Hok,

MEMOIR OK LINN/EUS. V

who withheld the testimonial, and introduced him as his private
pupil.

Looking at this apparently so unfavourable a beginning of life, it
seems almost incredible that this backward scholar, who could not be
induced to learn any thing, should have, in after-life, stood in so high
a rank as a man of science, that his fame attracted to the out-of-way
kingdom of Sweden, pupils from all quarters of the world, in the same
way as his distinguished countryman Berzelius, the chemist, is doing
at the present time. One of the first enterprises of moment under-
taken by the young Linnaeus, was an expedition to exploit Lapland,
under the patronage, and at the expense, of the Royal Academy.

On account of the season the journey could not be commenced be-
fore the spring ; and Linnaeus did not set out before the 13th May,
1732. He commenced the journey in high spirits, and in love with
nature ; travelled on horseback ; and carried his whole baggage on
his back. It may be worth while to describe his dress and implements
in his own words, from the narrative laid before the Academy of
Sciences : " My clothes consisted of a light coat of West Gothland
linsey-wolsey cloth, without folds, lined with red shalloon, having
small cuffs, and collar of shag ; leather breeches ; a round wig ; a
green leather cap ; and a pair of half-boots. I carried a small lea-
thern bag half an ell in length, but somewhat less in breadth, fur-
nished on one side with hooks and eyes, so that it could open and
shut at pleasure. This bag contained one shirt, two pair of false
sleeves, two half-shirts, an inkstand, pencase, microscope, and spying
glass ; a gauze cap, to protect me occasionally from the gnats ; a comb ;
my journal; and a parcel of paper, stitched together, for drawing
plants, both in folio ; my manuscript ornithology, Flora Uplandica,
and Characteres Generici. I wore a hanger at my side ; and car-
ried a small fowling-piece ; as well as an octangular stick, graduated
for the purpose of measuring. My pocket-book contained a passport
from the Governor of Upsala, and a recommendation from the Aca-
demy." During the rest of this excursion, he made use of the mode
of travelling which was best suited to the roads and passes, and per-
formed the greater part of it on foot. Many hardships were neces-
sarily undergone from the climate and nature of the country. His
life was often periled in ci'ossing rapid rivers, upon the rude boats or
rafts constructed by the inhabitants, and endangered in a dreary waste
of almost unbounded snow, where the tracts of the rein-deer, and the
degree of heat retained by their dung, were the only guides to the huts
of their masters ; and he was even once fired on, by a native on the
coast of Finmarck. Notwithstanding these difficulties, he has eulo-

MEMOIR OI' LINNjEUS.

gised the country, in the Flora Lapponica, as all that could be desired,
happy, and smiling ; free from many diseases, and the scourge of war ;
and possessing plentiful resources in itself; while the inhabitants are
said to be innocent and primitive, displaying the greatest hospitality
and kindness to a stranger. In the journey, he travelled over the
greater part of Lapland, skirting the boundaries of Norway, and re-
turned to Upsala by the Gulf of Bothnia, having passed over an ex-
tent of above 4000 miles. He considered his labour amply remu-
nerated by the information he had gained, and the discovery of new
plants upon the higher mountains, and the payment of his expenses,
amounting to about 10/.

The tour which was thus made by the young Lirma?us has been
published in English by the late Sir J. E. Smith, and though not
very well written, the curious particulars contained in it, render it
well worth perusal. It is probable, we think, that Linnseus might
never have been heard of beyond the confines of Sweden, had not
the refusal of a marriage proposal on the ground of his poverty, in-
duced him to visit Holland, in order to graduate as a physician. In-
stead of one year's absence, however, as originally intended, he was
detained about three years ; during which time he visited England
and France, became acquainted with Boerhaave and most of the
distinguished naturalists of the age ; and published some of the
works on Avhich his future celebrity became founded. On his return
to Sweden he commenced practising as a physician, and married the
lady whose hand had been before refused him. His subsequent
career is well known. He was soon chosen to fill the botanical
chair, which he did with great reputation for more than forty years.
To sum up his character: —

His mind was ardent and enthusiastic in the highest degree, par-
ticularly in following out his beloved science ; he never, however,
in his enthusiasm, lost sight of the First Great Cause, but looked
truly up to Nature's God, as the giver of all his benefits and acquire-
ments. Over the door of his room was inscribed, — " Innocue vivito
— Numen adest." And when enumerating in his diary his various
successes in life, he commences, " The Lord himself hath led him
with his own Almighty hand ;" and sums them up with " The Lord
hath been with him whithersoever he hath walked, and hath cut off
his enemies from before him, and hath made him a name like the
name of the great men that are in the earth." The most important
of his works commence and finish with some verse from the Scrip-
tures, implying the power or greatness of God, or his own gratitude
to Providence, for the innumerable benefits conferred upon himself,

MEMOIR OF LINNAEUS. Vll

and the inhabitants of the world; and his descriptions are continually
interspersed with expressions of admiration, of gratit ude, and love

His memory was most comprehensive, and remained almost unim-
paired till his sixtieth year ; but the most remarkable feature in his
comprehensive mind, was the power to seize upon the essential cha-
racters of whetever he was engaged with, to separate the useful from
the useless, and at once to characterize them with that decision and
clearness, which so peculiarly mark his writings and descriptions. A
better example of this cannot be referred to, and his style will be
better understood in the perusal, than in his Imperium Nature, or
the preface to three kingdoms in his Systema Naturce.

This love of order was equally conspicuous in his domestic arrange-
ments. In winter he slept from nine to six, in summer from ten to
three ; but he never extended his application of mind beyond the
moment at which he felt fatigue, and whatever fact came to his
knowledge, he noted it immediately in its proper place. He was
frugal in his way of living, and in his greatest prosperity never gave
way to extravagance or ostentation ; he was a strict economist, yet
liberal in conferring benefits. He often relieved his pupils when in
want, and was always ready to assist them in their travels, either by
money or advice. In his capacity as teacher, he possessed the faculty
of interesting his hearers, and of easily making himself understood,
and his pupils looked upon him more in the light of a counsellor, or
beloved adviser, than as a grave or austere professor.

MEMOIR OF BUFFON.

The illustrious naturalist whom we have chosen for the subject of the
present memoir, is an instance among many others ; and although he
was fortunate in procuring an education of the most liberal kind,
which embraced in its range polite literature and the sciences, and was
extended by means of foreign travel and the companionship of po-
lished minds, he had passed his thirtieth year before designing the
plan of his extensive works on nature, and the first branches of the
animal kingdom.

George Louis le Clerc Buffon, was born at Montbard * in Bur-
gundy, in September 1707, and his father, Benjamin le Clerc Buffon,
being a counsellor of Parliament in the district, naturally wished that
his son should study his own profession, and, if possible, assist and
succeed him in the discharge of its duties. There are a few existing
records of the early life of Buffon ; and except that he pursued the
studies which he undertook, with great ardour and perseverance, we
know little of his youthful habits and propensities.

His first public tuition was at the Jesuit's College of Dijon, where
he was placed to study the profession of the law ; but his dislike for
this employment, and the zeal with which he followed the more ab-
struse sciences, prevented his father from insisting upon a continuation
of his legal studies, and gradually permitted him to pursue those of
his own selecting. Astronomy and mathematics, were his early passion ;
and the young Le Clerc was seldom without a copy of Euclid in his
pocket, and was often observed to retire from his companions at play,
and to attempt, in some solitary corner, the solution of any problem
with which he had been perplexed.

* Buffon's house seemed the lfirge habitation of a tradesman rather than the resi-
dence of a man of rank. It is in the High Street, and the court is behind. You
ascend a staircase to go into the garden, -which is raised on the ruins of the an-
cient mansion of which the walls make the terraces. On the top there still re-
mains an octagon tower, where Buffon made his observations on the reverberations
of air. The elevation of this tower is 140 feet above the level of the little river
Braine, which crosses the town. This singular and picturesque garden is well
worthy the notice of the curious ; and the numerous foreign trees which the illus-
trious proprietor had collected, form agreeable arbours.— Mtllin's Travels.

X MEMOIR OF BUFFON.

This constant study and perseverance, at a period so early, and
when youthful minds are generally most idly inclined, was attended
with very brilliant results. He is said to have anticipated Newton in
some of his discoveries, and, in after-life, withheld the circumstances.

At the college of Dijon he became acquainted with the young Duke
of Kingston, who was travelling in Italy, accompanied by a tutor.
Buffon fortunately became acquainted with both ; and the latter, being
a man of considerable attainments, and devoted to the sciences, found
a ready access to the mind of a youth endowed with such temper and
abilities. It was agreed that he should accompany them in the prose-
cution of their travels, and he became equally acceptable to his friends,
and pleased with their society ; afterwards remarking, that while the
one became his companion in pleasure and amusements, the other
gained his esteem by his more solid qualifications.

They travelled amidst all that is placid and sublime in nature, or
lovely in the arts, he continued to pursue the more abstracted depart-
ments of science, almost neglecting the artificial productions ; and at
this same period seems to have imbibed many of the theories and
ideas, which fancifully, but eloquently adorned the chapters of the
first volumes of his great work.

At the age of twenty-one Buffon lost his mother ; and by her death
succeeded to an income of nearly twelve thousand pounds yearly. An
accession of such an amount to his fortune, enabled him to follow out
every design., which his studies had sugge sted ; but it also allowed him
to pursue, with almost unlimited control, every indulgence which his
inclinations prompted. His European travels still appear to have
been continued, and after his return to Montbard, being embroiled in
some affair of honour which required his absence until matters were
arranged, he visited Paris and England, and did not finally settle at his
paternal residence, till about the age of twenty-five, when he deter-
mined quietly to pursue the studies in which he had so much de-
lighted. He seems to have laid down for himself, even at this early
period, a decided and rigorous division of his time, and to have at-
tended generally to the Sciences, Natural History, and Polite Litera-
ture.

The division of his time and labour was thus : " After he was
dressed, he dictated letters, and regulated his domestic affairs ; and at
five o'clock he regulated his studies at the pavilion called the Tower
of St. Louis. This pavilion was situated at the extremity of the
garden, about a furlong from the house ; and the only furniture which
is contained was a large wooden secretary and an armed chair.
"No books or pictures relieved the naked appearance of the apartment,

MEMOIR OF BUFFON. XI

or distracted the thoughts of the learned possessor. Within this was
another cabinet, where Buffon resided the greater part of the year, on
account of the coldness of the other apartment, and where he composed
the greater number of his works. It was a small square building
situated on the side of a terrace, and was ornamented with drawings
of birds and beasts. Prince Henry of Prussia called it the cradle of
natural history ; and Rousseau, before he entered it, used to fall on his
knees and kiss the threshold. At nine o'clock, Buffon usually took an
hour's rest ; and his breakfast, which consisted of a piece of bread and
two glasses of wine, was brought to the pavilion. When he had
written two hours after breakfast, he returned to the house. At dinner
he spent a considerable portion of time, and indulged in all the gaieties
and trifles which occurred at table. After dinner he slept an hour in
his room, took a solitary walk, and during the rest of the evening, he
either conversed with his family or guests ; or sat at his desk examining
the papers which were submitted to his judgment. At nine o'clock
he went to bed, to prepare himself for the sam e routine of judgment
and pleasure. In this manner were spent no fewer than fifty years of
his life."

During the whole period of Buffon's career, we find him particular
and anxious regarding the purity and elegance of his style ; and he
translated many standard works in various languages, with the view
of improving it. The first of these which he published was " Hales's
Vegetable Staticks," accompanied with an appropriate preface of consi-
derable length and ability. At this time he also instituted and carried
through experiments, to prove the relative strength of the different
woods which were used in France for purposes of public utility, and
the best season for cutting the timber.

The next subject with which he became interested, was the manner
in which the Roman fleet under command of Marcellus, was set on fire
by Archimedes, and which was supposed could not be accomplished
by means of burning mirrors, as has been recorded. Buffon com-
menced his researches with ardour and perseverance, and his experi-
ments were eminently successful. They are the most important which
he performed, in those branches unconnected with natural history ;
and it is probable, that, had he not been appointed Intendant of the
Royal Garden and Cabinet, the various branches of mathematics,
optics, &c, would have received part of his attention, and might have
been attended with the most splendid results.

Buffon commenced his researches, with the view of constructing a
burning mirror, which would be cabable of performing, what had been
thought Archimedes could not have executed ; but, before cummen-

Xll MEMOIR OF BUFFON.

cing the plan, it was necessary to perform many preliminary experi-
ments, relating to the loss of light by reflection, and the best materials
which could be used for the construction of the lenses. These accom-
plished, he commenced to build his great mirror. It was composed of
168 pieces of plain silvered glass, six inches by eight in size, and he
required to examine above 500 pieces before the most perfect could
be obtained. Between each was an interval of four lines, to allow a
free motion, and to permit the observer to see the place, to which the
images were to be thrown. The whole were mounted in an iron frame
so fitted with screws and springs, that a motion could be given to
them in any direction, and the images reflected from all the mirrors
easily thrown upon the same spot. In eight experiments, he obtained
the following results, which clearly show the possibility of setting fire
to the Roman fleet : — On March 23d, a plank of tarred beech was set
on fire at sixty-six feet, with only forty mirrors, and without the
mirror being put upon its stand. On the same day, a plank tarred
and sulphured, and having the mirror more disadvantageously placed,
was fired, at the distance of 126 feet, with 98 mirrors. On the 3d of
April, at four o'clock in the evening, a slight inflammation was made
upon a plank covered with wool cut into small pieces, distant 138 feet,
with 112 mirrors. The next day, at eleven o'clock forenoon, 1.54
mirrors, at the distance of 150 feet, made a tarred plank smoke to
such a degree in two minutes, that it would have been inflamed had
not the sun disappeared. On the 5th April, a dull day, at three o'clock
in the afternoon, 154 mirrors, at a distance of 250 feet, inflamed in
two minutes and a half, minute chips of deal, sulphured and mixed
with charcoal. When the sun was vivid, the inflammation took place
in a few seconds. On the 10th April, after mid-day, with a clear sun,
128 mirrors, at the distance of 150 feet, set fire to a tarred plank of
fir; the inflammation being very sudden. Same day, at half-past two,
148 mirrors, at 150 feet, fired a plank of beech sulphured in some
parts, and in others covered with wool cut into small pieces ; the inflam-
mation was so sudden and violent, that it was necessary to plunge the
plank into water in order to extinguish it. April 1 1 , twelve mirrors,
at twenty feet, inflamed some combustible matters ; forty-five, at
twenty feet, melted a large pewter flask that weighed six pounds ;
and 117 made some thin pieces of silver and iron red-hot. Having
satisfied himself upon this point, he followed out the subject, and con-
structed mirrors upon various plans. Perhaps the most remarkable
were those formed by bending glass upon moulds of a spherical form
by means of a furrow ; he was thus able to make them of very consi-
derable size, but they required great caution in the cooling and grinding

MEMOIR OF EUFFON. Xlii

afterwards ; and, out of twenty-four which he made, only three were
ahle to be preserved. One of these, forty-six inches in diameter, was
presented to the King of France, and was regarded as the most power-
ful burning mirror in Europe.

A few years before the commencement of these experiments,
Buffon succeeded to M. Du Fay in the office of Intendant to the
Royal Garden and Cabinet, and, as before hinted, this appointment
ultimately fixed his mind to the pursuits of natural history. He was
only thirty-two years of age ; and when he saw such a mass of ma-
terials at his command, a great part of which was unnoticed by any
naturalist, we may easily conceive that a mind possessed of such en-
thusiasm, would be led again to a science which it had previously
studied. The great work contemplated, was intended to embrace
every branch of the animal kingdom; but he thought it would be
incomplete, unless the composition of the globe which sustained such
a multitude of living creatures, should itself be first elucidated, and
it was accordingly commenced by a history of the theory of the earth,
which he afterwards augmented by what he termed the " Epochas of
Nature." The first volume of the Natural History of Quadru-
peds did not appear till 1749, ten years after his appointment as In-
tendant of the Gardens ; and the first edition of the whole work
was not completed till 1767, occupying its author during a period of
sixteen years. In 1782, only six years before his death, we find a
supplementary number published. During the progress of the work,
he appears also to have kept up that unremitting perseverance which
characterises the pursuits of his earlier years, and he is said to have
employed fourteen hours daily in writing and study.

Previous to the publication of the first volume of his Natural
History, Buffon was enabled to increase his domestic felicity, by a
marriage with a lady with whom he had been for some time ac-
quainted, In 1752, he married Mademoiselle Saint Belin, who
though without fortune, possessed qualifications which rendered the
happiness of her husband undoubted. She eagerly followed the
train of honours which was now brightly expanding upon him, and
watched every step which .he gained with fresh anxiety ; many years
seemed thus to have passed in great tranquillity, and present an un-
varied routine of research and addition to the works which were ad-
vancing. During the height of this bright career, he was honoured
with marks of approbation by many of the sovereigns of Europe,
and by the learned societies of his country.

During his whole life lie enjoyed a singular portion of good
health, notwithstanding the irregularities which all his biographers
allow that he frequently indulged in.

XIV MEMOIR OF BUFFON.

Buffon continued for nearly eight years in severe affliction previ-
ous to his death : he retained his reason till within a few hours of
his death, but sunk under excruciating torture, on the 16th April
1788, in the eighty-first year of his age. His body was embalmed
and conveyed to Montbard, to be placed according to his directions,
in the same vault with that of his wife. Every earthly honour was
paid to his memory : a concourse of academicians, and of persons of
rank and distinction, attended the funeral: a monument was errected
to his memory ; and though there is much to blame in the private
character of Buffon, his name as a naturalist will long continue to be
remembered.

Buffon left one son, who inherited considerable abilities, and ap-
pears to have been fondly attached to his parent. He entered the
army, and rose to the rank of major in the regiment of Angoumois.
He was destined, however, to live in a more unsettled period, and
during the revolution was condemned to death, and perished on the
scaffold. The abilities of the father were no safeguard for the son ;
nor was the utility of his own works, or his kindness during life to
his retainers, a greater protection afterwards to his own remains,
against the ruthless hands of popular fury. The hatred to the noblesse
and aristocracy of France was borne by so violent a tide, that the re-
mains of this illustrious naturalist were torn up and leftunburied, the
leaden coffin carried off, and his monument razed to the ground.

The personal appearance of Buffon is said to have been command-
ing, while his countenance was intelligent. Our engraving represents
his forehead high and ample, but we should scarcely say that his coun-
tenance was very prepossessing.

The study of a subject, so as to acquire its mastery, must however
cost considerable labour ; and he was always inclined to be led away
by beauties or defects, which a lively power of imagination presented.
This we can every where trace in his writings; by the best judges
they have been pronounced elegant, but more attention is always
given to the style and detail as it were, of the story, than to that rigid
adherence to truth which is so essentially required by the naturalist.
This may be preserved without dry and weary detail, and at the same
time without wandering theoretically from the subject. Nature pre-
sents innumerable instances, where there is no need of any embellish-
ment, beyond the garb in which she has already dressed them, and
where the gaudy trickery of language is unnecessary, to give addi-
tional lustre to her beautiful but chaste productions.

M. De Buffon's conversation was unadorned, rarely animated, but
sometimes very cheerful. The power of communicating information

MEMOIR OF BUFFON. XV

was either wanting, or reserved for his particular friends in private,
and he considered that a discusion upon the Sciences should be con-
fined to books alone. These opinions may have influenced his wish
for comparative privacy, and it is certain that he did not mingle with
his contemporaries in literary and scientific fame.

Vanity has been generally allowed to be the greatest failing in the
mind of Buffon, and the pains which he took to work up his writings,
and his severe study, have perhaps been too often invidiously referred
" to the consideration of what after generations would think regard-
ing him." He delighted in reading aloud his own works to his
visiters, and chiefly those which he considered his finest pieces.
Parts of the Natural History of Man, and that of the Swan, &c,
were his favourites. It is but justice to say, however, that a more
laudable inducement to recite them, than the mere love of hearing
them praised, has been assigned by some of his biographers. "They
were read with the view of hearing opinions and receiving correc-
tions ;" he willingly received any hint of improprieties of style, and
was open to imperfections when pointed out to him.

He delighted also in what was luxurious or magnificent, and was
devoted to his dress almost to the extreme of foppery. He spent
much time at his toilet, and even in his latest years had his hair
dressed and powdered twice, or three times daily.

In the private character of Buffon, there is not much to praise.
In early youth he had entered into the pleasures and dissipations of
life, and licentious habits seem to have been retained to the last.
But the great blemish in such a mind was his declared infidelity .
it presents one of those exceptions among the persons who have
been devoted to the study of Nature ; and it is not easy to imagine
a mind apparently with such powers, scarcely acknowledging a
Creator, and when noticed, only by an arraignment for what ap-
peared wanting or defective in his great works. So openly, indeed,
was the freedom of his religious opinions expressed, that the indig-
nation of Soi'bonne was provoked.

Painful as a detail of such opinions must be, it is the duty of every
biographer to mention them : and our readers may compare the splen-
did talents and humble piety of the subject of our first memoir, with
the highly cultivated mind, the bright abilities of the present, whore
they but coupled with the disavowment of the Being from whom
all these precious gifts were derived.

The works by which Buffon is now best known, are those upon
Natural History. The first of these, " Natural History, General and
Particular," amounted to fifteen volumes quarto ; in the anatomical

XVI MEMOIR OP EUFFON.

department he was assisted by M. D'Aubenton, and a supplementary
volume afterwards appeared. This contained only the Natural His-
tory of Quadrupeds. On account of his illness, the first volumes of
the History of Birds did not appear till 1771 ; in which he was assisted
be M. Gueneau de Montbeillard, and in the three last he received help
from the Able Beron. They form nine volumes. He afterwards
published a volume containing the " Natural History of Minerals,"
and several supplementary additions, and he intended to have added
the History of Vegetables. The whole of these have been published
in thirty-eight volumes 4to., of which several translated editions have
appeared in this country. His other works, some of which we men-
tioned before, were the translation of " Newton's Fluxions," a
" Treatise on Accidental Colours," with various papers in the
" Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Science at Paris, from the year
1737 to 1742."

INDEX

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED.

FIRST GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

THIRD CLASS.

REPTILES.

ORDERS, GENERA, SUBGENERA, AND OTHER DIVISIONS.

General character of the Class, 1
Division into Orders, 3

ORDERS.

I. Chelonia, • III. Ophidia,

II. Sauria, j IV. Batrachia.

I. CHELONIA, 3

Gen. — Testudo, 5

Subgen. — Testudo, 5
Emys, 6

Testudo Indica, 7
Chelodina, 7
Hydraspis, 7
Terrapene, 7
Kinosternon, 7
Cistuda, 7
Caretta, 7
Chelydra, 7
Chelonura, 7

Gen. — Chelonia, 7

Sphargis, 8

Coriudo, 8

Dermochelis, 8
Gen.— Chelys, 9
Gen. — Trionyx, 9

Matamata, 9

II. SAURIA, 11

Fam. I. Crocodila, 11

Crocodilus, 11 (continued)

VOL. II. b

II. SAURIA— ( continued J.
Loricata, 12
Emydosauria, 12
Gavials, 12

Crocodilus — proper, 13
Theleosaurus, 13
Steneosaurus, 13
Alligator, 1-1

Fain. II. Lacertinida, 16

Gen. — Monitor, 16

Monitor — proper, 16

Varanus. 17

Psammosaurus, 17

Tupinambis, 17

Crocodilurus, 18

Teius, 18

Ada. IS

Safeguards, 18

Ameiva, 19
Gen.- — Lacerta, 20

Algyra, 20

Tachydromus, 20

[I, [gu A NIP a, 20

\st Section. — Agamians, 21

Geni— Stellio, 21

Cordylus, 21
Stellio-proper, 21
Zonurus, 21
Doryphorus, 22
Uromastix, 22

Gen. — Agama, 22

Agama, 23
Tapayes, 2 1
Trapelus, 24
Leiolepis, 24
Tropidolepis, 24
Leposoma, 24
Tropidosaurus, 21
Calotes, 24
.„ j^p» Lophyrus. 25

Gonocephalus, 25
Pneustes, 26
Phrynocephalus, 26
Lyrioceplialus, 26
Pneustoidea, 26
Brachylophus, 26
Physignathus. 26

Gen.- — Iptiurtag , -26
Lopfrura, 26
Draco. 27 ( continued)

INDEX. XIX

II. SAURIA— (continued).

(Jen. — Sitana, 27

Pterodactylus, 28
2nd Section. — Iguanians proper, 28
Gen. — Iguana, 28

Ophryessa, 2!*
Basilius, 29
Polychrus, 30
Ecphemotus, 30
Oplurus, 30
Anolius, 31
Mosasaurus, 32
Geosaurus, 32
Megalosaurus, 32
Iguanodon, 32

Fain. IV. Geckos, 33

Gecko, 33

Asaral Rotes, 33

Stellio, 33

1st Division 1 r>i * i \ r
c n i ? Platvclactvli
oj Geckos. J • J

Phelsuma, 34

Tarentola, 34

• Ptychozoon, 35

Pteropleura, 35

'2nd Die. tiemidactyli, 36

3rd Div. Thecadactyli, 36

4th Div. Ptyodactyli, 37

Uroplates, 37

Sarruba, 37

btk Die. Spheriodactyli, 37

Stenodactyli, 38

Gymnodactyli, 38

Phyllurus, 38

Fain. V. Cham.eleonians, 38
ChamseleOj 38

Fain. VI. Scincoidea. 40
Scincus. 40
Mabouia, 41
Tiliqua, 41
Pteiogasterus, 41
Seps, 42
Lygosoma, 42
Zygnis, 42
Monodactylus, 43
Chamcesaura, 43
Pygopus, 43
Bipes, 43
Srplot^s. 43 (continued)

XX INDEX.

II. SAURI A— (continued).

Pygodactylus, 43
Bipes, 43
Chalcides, 43
Tetradactylus, 44
Saurophis, 44
Brachypus, 44
Chalcis, 44
Copheas, 44
Colobus, 44
Chirotes, 44
Icthyosaurus, 44
Plesiosaurus, 44
Hylceosaurus, 45

III. OPHIDIA, 45

Fam. I. Anguina, 45
Anguis, 46
Pseuopus, 46
Ophisaurus, 46
Anguis proper, 46
Acontias, 47

Fam. II. Serpentia, 47

1st Tribe. Amphisboena, 48

Leposternon, 48

Typhlops, 49
2nd Tribe. Serpents proper, 49

Venomous, 49

Non-venomous, 50

Venomous Tortrix, 50

Uropeltes, 50

Anilius, 50

Torquatrix, 50

Ilysia, 50

Non-venomous Boas, 51

Coralle, 52

Xiphosoma, 52

Cenchris, 52

Scytale, 52

Erix, 52

Erpeton, 52
Coluber, 53

Python, 53

Cerberus, 53

Xenopeltis, 53

Heteredon, 53

Hurria, 54

Dipsas, 54

Bungarus, 54 (continued)

INDEX. XXI

III. OPHIDIA— (continued).

Deiidrophis, 54
Ahoetulla, 54
Drynius, 54
Dryolines, 54
Passerita, 54
Oligodon, 55
Tyria, 55
Malpolon, 55
Psammophis, 55
Coronella, 55
Xenodon, 55
Pseudoelaps, 55

True Venomous Serpents, Acrochordus.
Gen. — Crotalus, 57

Trigonocephalus, 58
Bothrops, 58
Cophias, 58
Tisiphone, 58
Crotalophorus, 58
Craspedocephalus, 58
Lachesis, 59
Gen. — Vipera, 59

Echidna, 59
Vipera, 59
Colera, 59
Corra, 59
Aspis, 59
Vipers, 59
Adders, 59
Pelias, 59
Sepedon, 59
Naias, 60
Elaps, 61
Micrurus, 61
Platurus, 61
Trimeresurus, 62
Oplocephalus, 62
Acanthophis, 62
Ophrias, 62
Echis, 62
Scytale, 62
Langaha, 62

Venomous Serpents with crooked, accompanied with other, teeth.

Gen. — Bungarus, 63

Pseudoboa, 63

Hydrus, 63

Hydrus, 63

Pelamis, 63

Chersydrus, 63 [continued)

VOL. II. c

XXU INDEX,

III. OPHIDIA— (continued).

Fam. III. Naked Serpents, 64
Gen. — Coecilia, 64

IV. BATRACHIANS, 65

Gen. — Rana, 66

Rana proper, 67
Ceratophris. 68
Stombus, 69
Dactylethra, 69
Engystoma, 69
Hyla, 69
Calamita, 69
Bufo, 70
Bombinator, J2
Rhinellus, 72
Oxyrynchus, "j2
Otilophis, 72
Breviceps, 72
Engystoma, 72
Brachycephalus, 72
Pipa, 72

Salamandra, 73

Terrestrials, 74
Aquatic, 74
Triton, 74
Fossil Man, 75

Menopoma, 76

Abranchus, 76
Cryptobranchus, 76
Protonopsis, 76

Menobranchus, 76
Necturus, 76

Proteus, 77

Hypochton, 77
Sken, 77

INDEX. XXI

FOURTH CLASS
FISHES.

ORDERS, GENERA, SUBGENERA, AND OTHER DIVISIONS.

General character of the Class, 79
Division into Orders, 83
1st. Series. Ordinary Fishes, or Fishes properly so called.

ORDERS.

1. Acanthopterygii.

2. Malacopterygii, Abdominales.

3. Malacopterygii, Sub-brachiati.

4. Malacopterygii, Apodes.

5. Lophobranchii.

6. Plectognathi.

2nd Series. Chondropterygians, or Cartilaginous Fishes.
FIRST SERIES.

ORDERS.

1. Sturiones, or Chondropterygians with Free Gills.

2. Chondropterygians with Fixed Gills.

ORDINARY FISHES.

I. ACANTHOPTERYGII, 84

Fam. 1 . — Percoides, 84

Is/ Subdivision. Thoracic Perches, 85
Gen. — Perca, 86
Labrax, 86
Lates, 86
Centropomus, 86
Grammustes, 86
Aspro, 86
Subgen. — Huro, 87
Etelis, 87
Niphon, 87
Enoplosus, 87
Diploprion, 87
Gen. — Apogon, 87

Cheilodipterus, 88
Pomatomus, 88

2d Subdiv. — Ambassis, 88

1st Div. — Lucio-perca, 88
2d Div.— Serraaus, 89
Serranus, 89
Anthias, 89
Merra, 90
Bodianus, 90
Bfolocentri, 90

(continued)

I. ACANTHOPTERYGII— (continued).

Epinepheli, 90
Ceplialopholes, 90
Lutjani, 90
Anthias, 90

Pleetropoma, 91

Diacope, 91

Mesoprion. 91

Perches with seven branchial rays, and a single dorsal,
Acerina, 92
Rypticus, 92
Polyprion, 92
Centropristis, 92
Gustes, 93

Perches with less than seven branchial rays,
Girrhites, 93
Chironemus, 93
Pomotis, 93
Centrarchus, 94
Priacanthus, 94
Dules, 94
Therapon, 94
Datnia, 94
Pelates, 94
Helotes, 95
Trichodon, 95
Sillago, 95
Hollocentrum, 95
Myripristis, 96
Beryx, 96
Trachichtys, 96
Trachinus, 96
Percis, 97
Pinguipes, 97
Percophis, 97
Uranoscopus, 98
Polynemus, 98
Sphyrcena, 99
Paralepis, 99
Mull us, 99
Mullus proper, 100
Upeneus, 100
Fam. II. Mailed Cheeks, 100
Trigla, 101
Trigla proper, 101
Prionotus, 102
Peristedion, 102
DactylopteruS,103

I . AC ANTHOPTERYG1I— (continued).

Cephalacanthus, 103
Cottus, 103

Cottus proper, 1 03
Aspidophores, 104
Agonus, 104
Phalangista, 104
Henutripterus, 104
Henulepidolus, 105
Platycephalus, 105

Centranodon, 105
Scorpo?na, 105

Scorpoena proper, 105
Tsenianotes, 105
Sebastes, 106
Pterois, 106
Blepsias, 106
Apistus, 106
Agriopus, 107
Pelor, 107
Syanceia, 107
Lepisacanthes, 107
Gasterosteus, 108
Gasterosteus proper, 108
Oreosama, 108

Fam. III. Scienoides, 199

Scisena, 109

Sciaena proper, 109
Otolithus, 109
Ancylodon, 110
Corvina, 110
Johnius, 110
Umbrina, 110
Lonchurus, 110
Pogonias, 110
Eques, 111
Haemulon, 111
Pristipoma, 111
Diagramma, 112
Lobotes, 112
Cheilodactylus, 112
Scolopsides, 113
Micropterus, 113
Ampbiprion, 113
Premnas, 113
Pomacentrus, 1 13
Dascyllus, 114
Glyphisodon, 114
Heliasus, 114

XXvi INDEX.

I. ACANTHOPTERYGII— (continued).

Fam. IV. Sparoides, 114

Sparus, 114
Sargus, 115
Crysophnis, 1 15
Pagrus, 115
Pagalus, 116
Dentex, 116
Pentapoda, 117
Lethrinus, 117
Boops, 117
Oblada, 117

Fam. V. Menides, 118

Moena, 118
Csesio, 118

Fam. VI. Squammipennes, 119

Chartodon, 119

Chaetodon proper, 120
Chebron, 120
Heniochus, 121
Ephippus, 121
Taurichtes, 121
Holocanthus, 121
Pomaranthes, 122
Platax, 122
Psettus, 122
Pimelepterus, 122
Dipterodon, 123
Brama, 123
Pempheris, 123
Toxotes, 124

Fam. Vll. Scomberoides, 124

Scomber, 124
Scomber, 124
Thynnus, 125
Orcynus, 125
Anxis, 126
Sanda, 126
Cybium, 126
Thirsites, 126
Gempylus, 127

Xipbias, 127

Xiphias proper, 127
Tetrapturus, 128
Makaira, 121
Istiophorus, 128
Notistimn. 128

I. ACANTHOPTERYGII— {continued).

Centronotus, 128
Naucrates, 128
Elacates, 129
Lichia, 129
Trachinotus, 129

Rhynchobdella, 130
Macrognathus, 130
Mastacembelus, 130

Notacanthus, 130
Campilodon, 130

Seriola, 130

Nomeus, 131

Temnodon, 131

Caranx, 131
Carangue, 132
Citulo, 132

Vomers, 132
Olistus, 132
Scyris, 133
Blepharis, 133
Gallus, 133
Argyreyosus, 133
Vomer proper, 133

Zeus, 133
Zeus, 133
Capros, 134
Lampris, 134
Chrysotosus, 134
Equula, 134
Mene, 156

Stromateus, 135
Pamples, 135
Peprilus, 135
Luvarus, 136

Seserinus, 136

Kurtus, 136

Coryphcena, 136
Coryphoena, 137
Caranxomorus, 137
Centrolophus, 137
Astrodermus, 137
Pteraclis, 137
Oligopodus, 137

Fam. VIII. Tnioid/ees, 138

Lepidopius, 138
Trichiurus, 138
Lepturus, 138
Gymnogaster, 139
Stylephorus, 140
Gymnetrus, 139

XXV111 INDEX.

I. ACANTHOPTERYG1I— (continued).

Cepola, 140
Lophotes, 141

Fam. IX. Theutyes, 141

Siganus, 141
Buro, 141
Centrogaster, 141
Amphacanthus, 141
Acanthurus, 142
Harpurus, 142
Pr on virus, 142
Naseus, 142
Monoceros, 142
Axinurus, 143
Priodon, 143

Fam. X. Labyrynthiform Pharyngeals, 143

Anabas, 143
Polycanthus, 144
Manopodius, 144
Helostoma, 144
Osphrobenus, 144
Tricobetus, 144
Spiro-brancbus, 145
Ophicephalus, 145

Fam. XI. Mugiloides, 146

Mugil, 146
Tetragonurus, 147
Alherina, 148

Fam. XII. Gobioides, 149

Blennius, 149

Blennius proper, 149

Pholis, 150

Myoxodes, 150

Salarias, 150

Clinus, 151

Cirrhibarba, 151

Muraenoides, 151

Opistognatbus, 151

Zoarcus, 152
Anarrhicas, 152

Gobius, 152

Gobius proper, 153

Gobioides, 154

Taenioides, 154

Periophtalmus, 154
Eleotris, 155

INDEX. XXIX

I ArANTHOPTERYGII— (co»j/iHu*</).

Callionymus, 156
Trichonotus, 156
Comephorus, 156
Platypterus, 157
Chirus, 157
Lab rax, 157

Fam. XIII. Pediculated Pectorales, 157

Lophius, 157

Lophins proper, 158

Chironectes, 158

Antennarius, 158

Malthe, 159

Batrachus, 159
Batracoides, 159

lam. XIV. Labroidep, 160

Labrus proper. 161

Cheilinus, 161

Lachnolaimus, 162

Julis, 16-2

Anampses, 163

Crenilabrus. 163

Coricus, 164

ftpibubis, 164

Clepticus, 164

Gompbosus. 164

Elops, 165
Xirichtbys, 16;>
Chromis, 165
Cyehla, 166
Plesiops, 166
Malacanthus, 1 6*:
Searus, 166

Calliodon, 16/

Odox, 167

Fam. XV. Flute Mouths. 168

Fistularia, 168

Fistularia proper, 166

Aulostomus, 168
Centriscus, 169

Centriscus proper, 169

Amphisile, 169

II. ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS 169

Fam. I. Cyprinid.>e, 170
Cyprinus, 170

VOL. II. </

XXX INDEX.

II. ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS— (continued).

Cyprinus proper, 170

Barbus, 171

Gobio, 172

Tinea, 172

Cirrhinus, 17'2

Abramis, 172

Libeo, 173

Catostomus, 173

Leuciscus, 173

Chelae, 174

Gonorrhynchus, 174
Cobitis, 175
Anableps, 175
Peecilia, 176
Lebras, 176
Fundulus, 176
Molencsia, 176
Cyprinodon, 177

Fam. II. Esoces, 177

Esox, 177

Galaxias, 178

Alepocephalus, 178

Microstoma, 178

Stomias, 178

Chauliodes, 179

Salanx, 179

Belone, 179

Scombresox, 180

Sairis, 180

Hemiramphus, 180
Exocetus, 180
Mormyrus, 881

Fam. III. Silxjrid^, 182

Silurus, 182

Silurus proper, 18o

Silurus, 183

Shilbe, 183
Mystus, 184
Pimelodus, 184

Bagrus, 184

Pimelodus proper, 184

Synodontes, 185

Ageniosus, 186
Doras, 186
Heterobranchus, 186
Maeroptoronotes. 187
Plotosus, 187

INDEX.

U. ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS— {continued).

Callichthys, 187

Cataphractus, 187
Malapterus, 187
Glatystacus, 188
Aspredo, 188
Loricaria, 189

Hypostomus, 189

Zoricaria, 189

Fain. IV. Salmonides, 189

f-'almo, 190

Salmo proper, 190

Osmei'us, 192

Mallotus, 192

Thymallus, 192

Coregonus, 193

Argentina, 194

Curimata, 194

Anostomus, 195

Gasteropelecus, 195

Serpes, 195

Peabucus, 195

Serrasalmus, 195

Tetragonopterus, 195

Chalceus, 196

Myletes, 196

Hydrocyon, 196

Citharinus, 197

Saurus, 197

Scopelus, 198

Anlopus, 198
Sternoptyx, 199

Fam. V. Clupk(e, 199
Clupea, 199

Clupea proper. 200

Alosa, 201

Chatoessus, 202
Odontognathus, 202
Pristigaster, 203
Notopterus, 203
Engraulis, 203

Thryssa, 204
Megalops, 204
Elops, 204
Butirinus, 204
Chirocenthus, 205
Hyodon, 205
Erythrinus, 205
Amia, 206
Sudis, 206

xxxii index.

II. ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS— (continued).

Osteoglossum, 207
Lepisosteus, 207
Polypterus, 207

III. SUBBRACHIAN MALACOPTERYGIANS, 208

Fam. I. Gadites, 208

Gadus, 208

Morrhua, 209

Merlangus, 210

Merluccus, 210

Lota, 210

Motella, 211

Brosmius, 21 }

Brotula, 211

Phycis, 211

Raniceps, 212
Macrourus, 212

Vam. II. Flat Fishes, 213

Pleuroncctes, 213
Platessa, 213
Hyppoglossus, 214
Rhombus, 215
Solea, 216
Monochirus, 2l6
Achirvis, 21 7
Plagusia, 217

Fam. III. Discoboli, 217

Lcpadogaster, 217

Lcpadogaster proper, 217

Gobieso,2l8
Cyclopterus, 2Ks

Lumpus, 218

Liparis, 218
Echeneis, 219

IV. APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS, 220

Fam. I. Anguilliformes, 220
Murcena, 220
Anguilla, 220

True Eels, 221

Congers, 221

Ophisurus, 221
Murcena proper, 222
Sphagebranchus, 223
Monopterus, 223
Synbranchus, 223

INDEX. xxxm

IV. APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS— (continued),

Alabes, 224
Sacchopharynx, 224
Gymnotus, 224

Gymnotus, 224

Carapus, 225

Sternarchus, 225
Gymnarchus, 226
Leptoccphalus, 226
Ophidium, 226

Ophidium, 226

Fierasfer, 227
Ammodytes, 227

V. LOPHOBRANCHIATE FISHES, 228

Syngnathus, 228

Sygnathus, 229

Hippocampus. 229
Solenostomus, 229
Pegasus, 230

VI. PLECTOGNATHES, 230

Fam. I. Gymnodontes, 231

Diodon, 232
Tetraodon, 232
Cephalus, 233
Triodon, 234

Fam. II. Sclerodermes, 234

Bal stes, 234

Balistes, 234

Monscanthus, 235

Alutercs, 236

Triacanthus, 236
Ostracion, 237

SECOND SERIES.
CHONDROPTERYGIANS, OR CARTILAGINOUS FISHES.

I, STURIONES, CHONDROPTERYGIANS WITH FIXED
GILLS, 238

Accipenser, 238
Polyodon, 240
Chimcera, 240

Chimoera, 240

Callorhyncus, 241

II. FIXED GILLED CHONDROPTERYGIANS, 241
Fam. I. Selachii. 241

Squalus, 242

Scyllium, 242

Squalus, 243

Carcharias, 243

Limna, 244

Galeus, 245

Musletus, 245

Selachc, 245

Ccstracion, 246

Spinax, 246

Centrona, 246

Scymnus, 247
Zygo?na, 247

Squatena, 248

Pristis, 248
Raia, 248

Raia, 248

Rhinobatus, 249

Rhina, 249

Torpedo, 249

Raia, 250

Trygon, 251

Anacanthus, 252

Myliobates, 252

Rhinoptcra, 252

Cepbaloptera, 253

Fam. II. Suctorii, 253

Petromyzon, 254

Pctromyzon, 254
Myxinc, 255

Heptatremus, 255

Gastrobranchus, 255

Ammoccetes, 255

NOTE.

Cornish Fishes, 256

Order I. Apodes, 256

II. Jugulares, 256

III. Thoracici, 257

IV. Abdominales, 257
Branchyostegous Fisbes, 258
Chondropterygious Fisbes, 258

NATURE OF FISHES.

C hapter I. General Character of Fishes, 259
Areas of Seas and Land, 259

II. Exterior of Fishes, 267

III. Osteology of Fishes, 269

IV. Myology of Fishes, 310

V. Brains and Nerves of Fishes, 322

VI. Organs of the external Senses in Fishes, 335

VII. Organs of Nutrition of Fishes, 352

VIII. Organs of Generation of Fishes, 376

IX. General Recapitulation of the Organization of
Fishes, 380

APPENDIX.

Ancient and Modern Authors ox Ichthyology, 393

THIRD GREAT DIVISION

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

CLASS III.-VERTEBRATA.

REPTILES.

Reptit.es have the heart so contrived as that, at each of its contractions,
it transmits to the lungs a portion only of the blood which returns to it
from the various parts of the body, and the remainder of this fluid goes
back to circulate again, without having passed into the lungs, and conse-
quently without having been subjected to respiration.

Hence it is, that the action of the oxygen on their blood is less than in
the Mammalia, and that if the amount of respiration in the latter, in
which all the blood is obliged to pass into the lungs before its return to
the body, be represented by unity, then the amount of the respiration of
the Reptiles may be expressed by a fraction of that unity, as small as the
proportion of the blood sent into the lungs at each contraction of the
heart.

As respiration is the source of the heat of the blood, and of the sus-
ceptibility of fibrous structure to nervous irritability, the reptiles having
cold blood, and having a muscular power on the whole much inferior to
that of the Quadrupeds, and a fortiori, than the Birds, they are incapa-
ble almost of other motions than those of crawling and swimming: and
although several of them jump and run very fast at certain moments, yet
their habits are slothful, their digestion excessively tedious, their sensa-
tions blunt, and in cold or temperate countries they pass the winter in a
state of lethargy. Their brain, which is proportionally very small, is not
so necessary to the exercise of their animal and vital faculties, as to the
members of the two first classes; their sensations seem to be less referred
to a common centre; they continue to live and to exhibit voluntary motions
long after losing their brain, and even after their head has been cut off.

"'OL. II. B

2 REPTILES.

The connexion with the nervous system is also much less necessary to
the contraction of their fibres, and their muscles preserve their irritabi-
lity after being severed from the body much longer than those of the pre-
ceding classes; their heart continues to pulsate for hours after it has
been torn away, nor does its loss prevent the body from moving for a
long time. The cerebellum of several has been observed to be extremely
small, a fact which tallies with their slight propensity to motion.

The smallness of the pulmonary vessels permits Reptiles to suspend the
process of respiration without arresting the course of the blood; thus
they dive with more facility, and remain longer under water than either
the Mammalia or Birds. The cells of their lungs, being less numerous,
because they have fewer vessels to lodge on their parietes, are much
wider, and the organs themselves sometimes have the form of simple and
scarcely cellular sacs.

Although some of them are incapable of producing audible sounds, they
are all provided with a trachea and larynx.

Their blood not being warm, there was no necessity for teguments capa-
ble of retaining heat, so that they are covered with scales or simply with
a naked skin.

The females have a double ovary and two oviducts; the males of seve-
ral genera have a forked or double penis, those of the last order, the
Batrachians, have none.

No Reptile hatches its eggs, and in several genera of the Batrachians,
they are fecundated after their exclusion from the female, in which case
the egg is enveloped by a membrane only. The young of this latter
order, on quitting the egg, have the form and branchiae of Fishes, and
some of its genera preserve these organs even after the development of
their lungs. In several oviparous Reptiles, the Colubers particularly, the
young animal in the egg is formed and considerably advanced at the mo-
ment of its exit from the mother ; and there are even some species which
may be rendered viviparous by simply retarding that epoch*.

The quantity of respiration in Reptiles is not fixed like that of the
Mammalia and Birds, but varies with the proportion of the diameter of
the pulmonary artery compared to that of the aorta. Thus Tortoises and
Lizards respire much more than Frogs, &c. ; and hence results a much
greater difference of sensibility and energy than can exist between one of
the Mammalia and another, or between Birds.

Reptiles accordingly present an infinitely greater variety of forms, mo-
tions, and properties than is to be found in the two preceding classes ;

* The Colubers, for instance, when deprived of water, as proved by the experi-
ments of M. Geoftroy.

TORTOISES. S

and it is in an especial manner in their production that Nature seems to
have amused herself by imagining the most fantastic shapes, and by mo-
difying in every possible way the general plan she has followed in the
construction of the Vertebrated animals, and in the Oviparous classes
especially.

The comparison, however, of their quantity of respiration and of their
organs of motion, has enabled M. Brogniart to divide them jnto four
orders*, viz.

The Chelonia, or Tortoises, whose heart has two auricles, and whose
body, supported by four feet, is enveloped by two plates or bucklers form-
ed by the ribs and sternum.

The Sauria, or Lizards, whose heart has two auricles, and whose
body, supported by four or two feet, is covered with scales.

The Ophidia, or Serpents, whose heart has two auricles, and whose
body always remains deprived of feet.

The Batrachia, whose heart has but one' auricle, and whose body is
naked; most of these pass, with age, from the form of a fish breathing by
branchiee, to that of a quadruped breathing by lungs. Some of them,
however, always retain their branchiae, and a few have never more than
two feety.

ORDER I.

CHELONIA.— THE TORTOISES.

The Chelonia, better known by the name of Tortoises, have a heart com-
posed of two auricles, and of a ventricle divided in two unequal cavities,
which communicate with each other. The blood from the body is poured
into the right auricle, that from the lungs into the left, but the two streams
become more or less mingled in passing through the ventricle.

These animals are distinguished at the first glance by the double shield
in which the body is enveloped, and which allows no part to project ex-
cept their head, neck, tail, and four feet. The upper shield, called cara-

* Al. Brogniart, Essai (Tune Classification Nalurelle des Reptiles, Paris, 1805, and
in the Mem. des Savants Etrang., torn. 1, p. 587.

f The Sauria and Ophidia are differently arranged by some others, Merrem, for
instance. They detach the crocodiles, to form a separate order, and unite the first
family of the Ophidia or Anguis to the remainder of the Sauria, a distribution which
is founded on some peculiarities in the organization of crocodiles, and on a certain
resemblance of Anguis to the Lizards. Wc merely indicate these affinities, which
are almost wholly internal, preferring a division more easily applied.

b2

4 REPTILES.

pace, is formed by the ribs, of which there are eight pair, widened and
reunited by denticulated sutures, and with plates adhering to the annular
portion of the dorsal vertebrae, so that all these parts are rendered fixed
and immoveable. The inferior shell, called plastron, is formed of pieces,
usually nine in number, analogous to a sternum*. A frame, composed of
bony pieces, which have been considered as possessing some analogy with
the sternal or cartilaginous portion of the ribs, and which in one subgenus
always remains in a cartilaginous state, surrounds the shell, uniting and
binding together all the ribs which compose it. The vertebras of the neck
and tail are consequently the only ones which are moveable.

These two bony envelopes being immediately covered by the skin or by
plates, the scapulae and all the muscles of the arm and neck, instead of
being connected with the ribs and spine, as in other animals, are attached
beneath : the same arrangement is found in the bones of the pelvis and
all the muscles of the thigh, so that in this respect the Tortoise may be
said to be an inverted animal.

The vertebral extremity of the scapula is articulated with the she!! ;
and the opposite limit, which may be considered analogous to a clavicle,,
is joined to the sternum ; so that the two shoulders form a ring, through
which pass the oesophagus and trachea.

A third bony branch, larger than either of the others, and directed
downwards and backwards, represents, as in Birds, the coracoid apophysis,
but its posterior extremity is free.

The lungs have considerable extent, and are situated in the same cavity
with the other viscera -f. The thorax, in most of them, being im-
moveable, it is by the play of its mouth that the Tortoise respires, the
process being effected by keeping the jaws closed, and alternately raising
and depressing the os hyoides. The former of these motions permits air
to enter through the nostrils, the tongue then closes the internal orifice of
those apertures, when the latter forces the air into the lungs £.

Tortoises have no teeth; their jaws are invested with horn, like those
of Birds, — the Chelydes, where they are covered with skin only, excepted.
Their tympanum and palatine arches are fixed to the cranium, and are
immoveable; their tongue is short and bristled with fleshy filaments; their

* See Geoff. An. du Mus. t. XIV, p. 5; and on the entire osteology of the tor-
toises, my Rech. sur les Oss. Foss. torn. V, 2e partie («).

• f Observe that in all those reptiles in which the lung penetrates into the abdo-
men (and the Crocodile is the only one in which it does not), it is enveloped like (he
intestines by a fold of the peritoneum, which separates it from the abdominal cavity.
I With respect to this mechanism, which is common to Tortoises and to the Ba-
trachians, see the Mem. of Robert Townson, Lond. 1779.

$g|r (a) In future, the upper shell will be called " shell," and the inferior shell,
" sternum." — Eng. Ed.

TORTOISES. 5

stomach simple and strong; their intestines of a moderate length, and
destitute of a caecum. Their bladder is very large.

The penis of the male is simple and large, and the eggs laid by the
female are invested with a hard shell. The former is frequently known
by its exterior from the concavity of its sternum.

They possess great tenacity of life, — and instances are on record, in
which they have been seen to move for several weeks after losing their
head. They require but little nourishment, and can pass whole months,
and even years, without eating.

The Chelonia, which were all united by Linnaeus in the genus

Testudo, Lin.,

Have since been divided into five subgenera, chiefly from the forms and
teguments of their shell, and of their feet.

1. Land Tortoises. — Testudo*, Brog.

The land Tortoises have the shell arched and supported by a solid,
bony frame, most of its lateral edges being soldered to the sternum; the
legs, as if truncated, with very short toes, which are closely joined as far
as the nails, all susceptible of being withdrawn between the bucklers;
there are five nails to the fore-feet, the hind ones have four, all stout and
conical. Several species live on vegetable food.

T. grceca, L. ; Schcepf. pi. viii, ix, is the species most common in
Europe; it is found in Greece, Italy, Sardinia, and apparently all
round the Mediterranean. It is distinguished by its wide and
equally arched shell ; by its raised scales or plates, which are gra-
nulate in the centre, striated on the edges, and marbled with large
yellow and black spots; and by its posterior edge in the middle, of
which there is a prominence slightly bent over the tail. It rarely
attains the length of a foot, lives on leaves, fruit, insects, and
worms, excavates a hole in which it passes the winter, and breeds in
the spring, laying four or five eggs similar to those of a Pigeon.

Among the species foreign to Europe, there are several from the East
Jndies, of an enormous size, and three feet, and upwards, in length. One
of them in particular has been called the

Test, indica, Vosm. ; Schcepf. Tort. pi. xxii. (The Indian Tor-
toise). Its shell is compressed in front, and its anterior edge is
turned up above the head. Its colour is a deep brown.

Some of them are remarkable for the beautiful distribution of their
colours; such are

T. geometrica,L.; Lacep. I, ix; Schcepf. x. (The Geometrica ).
A small tortoise, each plate of whose shell is regularly ornamented
with yellow lines, radiating from a disk of the same colour.

T. radiata, Shaw, Gen. Zool. Ill, pi. ii; and Daud. II, xxvi.

* Merrem has changed this name into Chersine.

REPTILES.

(The Coui). A New Holland species, ornamented with nearly as
much regularity as the Geometrica, hut which attains a much larger
size*.

In some species, the Pyxis, Bell., the anterior part of the ster-
num is moveable like that of the Box Tortoises ; others again, the
Kinixys, Id., can move the posterior portion-}-.

2. Fresh-water Tortoises. — EmysJ, Brongn.

The fresh-water Tortoises have no other constant characters by which
they can be distinguished from the preceding ones, than the greater sepa-
ration of the toes, which are terminated by longer nails, and the intervals
occupied by membranes; even in this respect there are shades of differ-
ence. They likewise have five nails before and four behind. The form
of their feet renders their habits more aquatic. Most of them feed on in-
sects, small fishes, &c. Their envelope is generally more flattened than
that of the land tortoises.

Test, europcra, Schn. ; T. orbicularis, L. ; Schcepf. pi. 1 §, (The
Fresh-water Tortoise of Europe), is the most universally diffused
species ; it is found in all the south and east of Europe and as far
as Prussia. Its shell is oval, but slightly convex, tolerably smooth,
blackish, and every where dotted with yellowish points arranged in
radii. It attains the length of ten inches; its flesh is used as food,
and it is reared for that purpose with bread, young vegetables, in-
sects, &c. Marsigli says its eggs are a year in being hatched.

Test, picta, Schoepf. pi. iv, (The Painted Tortoise), is one of the
most beautiful species ; it is smooth and brown, each plate being-
surrounded with a yellow band, which is very broad on the anterior
edge. It is found in North America along the shores of brooks, on
rocks or trunks of trees, whence it plunges into the water on the first
alarm 1 1 .

* Add, T. stellata, Schcepf. XXV; — T. angulata, Schweig; — T. arcolala, Sch.
XXIII;— T.marginata, Sch. XII, 1, 2;—T. dentictdata, Sch. XXVIII, 1;— T.cafra,
Schweig; — T. signata, Schw.; — T. carbonaria, Spix,XVI; — T. Hercules, Id. XIV; —
T. cagado, Id. XVII;— T. tabulata, Sch. XIII;— T. sculp/a, Spix, XV;— T. nigra,
Quoy and Gay m. Voy. de Freycin. Zool. XXXVI 1; — T. depressa, Cuv. j — T. biguttata,
Id.; — T. Carolina, Le Conte, &c. (a).

■\ See the paper of M. Bell., in the Lin. Trans. Vol. XV, part 2, p. 392; in two of
these Kinixys which we have seen living, the edges of the joint in the shield were
worn away, or as if carious, and to such a degree as to induce a suspicion that there
was something morbid in this conformation.

% From emus, tortoise.

§ It is the same as the verte et jaunc, Lacep. pi. vi, and his ronde, pi. v; see the
Monog. of this species by M. Bojanus, Vilna, I, SI 9, fol.

II Add, Em. Ivlar'w, Lacep. IV; — Em. Adausonii, Schweig; — Em. senegalensis,
Punier.; — Em. subrufa, Lacep. XIII; — Em. contractu, Schweig; — Em. punctata,
Schoepf. V ; — Em. reticulata, Daud. ; — Em. rubriventris, Le Conte; — Em.serruta, Daud.
II, xxi; — Em. concinna, Le Conte, or geometrica, Lesueur; — Em. geographiea, Le-
sueur; — Em. scripta, Schcepf. 111,4; — Em. cinerea, Id. II, 3; — Em.centrata, Daud.
or lerrapen, Lin. Schcepf. XV; — Em. concentrica, Le Conte; — Em. odorata, Id.; — Em.

f$gr (a) This is really the T. Carolina, GmeL, the T. polyphenols of others. — Eng.
Er>.

TORTOISES. 7

Among the fresh-water tortoises we should remark

The Box Tortoises*,

The sternum of which is divided by a moveable articulation into two lids,
which, when the head and limbs are withdrawn, completely encase the
animal in its shell.

In some the anterior lid only is moveable"!".
In others both are equally so J.

There are some fresh-water Tortoises, on the contrary, whose long tail
and voluminous members cannot be completely retracted within the shell.
These approximate, in this respect, to the following subgenera, and parti-
cularly to the Chelydes, and render them consequently worthy of dis-
tinction§ . Such is,

Test, serpentina, L. ; Schcepf. pi. vi, (The Snapper), which may
be easily recognised by its tail, nearly as long as its shell, and bris-
tled with sharp and dentated crests, and by its pyramidically elevated
plates. It is found in the warm parts of North America, where it
destroys numbers of fishes and aquatic birds, wanders far from rivers,
and sometimes weighs upwards of twenty pounds.

3. The Sea-Tortoises. — Chelonia||, Brongn.

The envelope of the Sea Tortoises is too small to receive their head,
and particularly their feet, which are very long (the anterior ones most so),
and flattened into fins, whilst their toes are all closely united in the same
membrane. The two first ones of each foot being alone furnished with
pointed nails, one or other of which at a certain age is very often lost.
The pieces of their sternum do not form a continuous plate, but are va-
riously notched, leaving considerable intervals, which are filled with car-
tilage only. The ribs are narrowed and separated from each other :it
their external extremities; the circumference of the shell, however, is
surrounded with a circle of pieces corresponding to the ribs of the ster-
num. The temporal fossa is covered above by an arch formed by the pa-
rietal and other bones, so that the whole head is furnished with an unin-
terrupted osseous helmet. The internal surface of the oesophagus is

fusca, Lesueur; — Em. leprosa, Schw. ; — Em. nasuta, Id.; — Em. dorsala, Schoepf. ; —
Em. pnlchella, Schoepf. XXVI, or inseulpta, Le Conte; — -Em. lutescens, Schw.; — Em.
expansa, Id.; — Em. Macquaria, Cuv.

M. Fitzinger separates under the name of Chelodina, and M. Bell under that of
Hydraspis, those species which have a mure elongated neck, such as the Em. longi-
cotlis, Shaw, Gen. Zool. Ill, part I, pi. xvi; — Em. planiceps, Schoepf. XXVII, or ca-
naliculata, Spix, VIII; — Em. platicephala, Mcrrem; — Em. depressa, Spix, III, 2; —
Em. carunculata, Aug. St. Hil.; — Em. tritentaculata, Id.

* This suhdivision gave Mcrrem his genus Terrapene, Spix his K inosternon,
and Fleming his Cistuda. The European species, and others, already partake of
this nioveahility, which renders the task of limiting the genus a difficult matter.

t Test, subnigra, I, vii, 2; — T. clausa, Schoepf. VII.

% La Tortue a boite d' Am boine, Daud. 11,309;— Test, tricarinata, Schoepf. II;
Test, pennsylvanica, I, d. xxiv. [To which may be added T.odorata, Daud.]

§ This suhdivision has furnished M. Fitzinger with his genus Cheli de i,and M.
Fleming with that of Chelonura.

|| ( helonia, from chelone. Merrem has preferred the barbarous nam "i C »retta.

8 RETT ILLS.

every where armed with sharp cartilaginous points directed towards the

stomach.

Test, mydas, L.*; T. viridis, Schn. ; Lacep. I, 1, (The Common
Turtle), is distinguished by its greenish plates, thirteen in number,.
which are not arranged like tiles; those of the middle range are al-
most regular hexagons. It is found from six to seven feet long, and
weighing from seven to eight hundred pounds. Its flesh furnishes
an agreeable and wholesome food to the mariner in every latitude of
the torrid zone. It feeds in large troops on the sea-weed at the
bottom of the ocean, and approaches the mouths of rivers to respire.
The eggs, which it exposes on the sand to the sun, are very nume-
rous, and excellent for eating; its shell is not employed in any useful
purpose.

A neighbouring species, Cliel. maculosa, Nob., the middle plates
are twice as long as they are broad, and of a fawn colour, marked
with large black spots. In a second, Chel. lachrymata, Nob., whose
middle plates are similar to those of the maculosa, the last is so raised
as to form a knob, and the fawn colour is marked with black streaks.
The shell is employed in useful purposes.

Test, imbricata, (the Hawk -bill or Imbricated Turtle), L. ; Le
Caret, Lac. I, 11; Schcepf. XVIII, A. Smaller than the viridis,
has a longer muzzle and denticulated jaws ; there are thirteen fawn-
coloured and brown plates, which overlap each other like tiles; its
flesh is disagreeable and unwholesome, but the eggs are delicious,
and it furnishes the finest kind of tortoiseshell employed in the arts.
It inhabits the seas of hot climates.

There are also two species which approximate to the imbricata,
Chel. virgata, Nob.; Bruce, Abyss., pi. xlii; whose plates are less
elevated, the middle ones equal, but with more acute lateral angles,
and marked in iadii with black specks; and Chel. radiata, Schcepf,
xvi, 13, which only differs from the preceding in the increased breadth
of the last middle plate; it is perhaps a mere variety.

Test, caretta, Gra. ; La Caouane, Schcepf. pi. xvi; is more or less
brown or red, and has fifteen plates, the middle ones of which are
ridged, particularly towards their extremities; the point of the upper
mandible is hooked, and the anterior feet are longer and narrower
than in the neighbouring species, having two better marked nails.
It is found in different seas, and even in the Mediterranean; it feeds
on shell -fish; the flesh is not eaten, and its shell is of little value,
but it yields good lamp-oil.

Merrem has recently distinguished, by the name of Spiiargis, those
Cheloniaa whose shell is destitute of plates, and merely covered with a
sort of leather j. Such is

Test, coriacea, L,. ; Le Luth, Lacep. I, iii; Schcepf. xxviii. (The

* This name of My das was taken by Linnaeus from Niphus. Schneider considers
it as a corruption of emus.

t Fleming calls them Cokiudo; Lesueur, Dermocielis.

TORTOISES. 9

Coriaceous Turtle). A very large species of the Mediterranean (a).
Its shell is oval and pointed behind, exhibiting three projecting lon-
gitudinal ridges *.

4. The Chelys, or Large-mouthed Tortoises. — Chelysj, Dumcril.

The Chelys resemble fresh-water Tortoises in their feet and nails;
their envelope is much too small to contain their head and feet, which are
very large, and their nose is lengthened out into a small snout; their
most marked character, however, consists in their mouth, which opens
crosswise, being unarmed with the horny beak common to the other Che-
lonias, and similar to that of certain Batrachians, the Pipa in particular.
Test, fimbria, Gm. ; La Matamata, Bruguiere's Journ. d'Hist.
Nat. I, xiii; Schcepf. xxi. The shell studded with pyramidal eleva-
tions, and the body edged all round with a pinked fringe. It is found
in Guiana.

5. The Soft-shelled Tortoises. — Trionyx, Geoff.

The Soft-shelled Tortoises have no scales, the shell and sternum being
simply enveloped by a soft skin ; neither of those shells is completely sup-
ported by bones, the ribs not extending to the edges of the sternal one,
and united with each other only for a portion of their length, the parts
analogous to the sternal ribs being replaced by simple cartilage, and the
sternal pieces partially notched as in the sea-tortoises, not covering the
whole lower surface. After death, we can see through the dried skin
that the surface of the ribs is very rough. Their feet, like those of the
fresh-water Tortoises, are palmated without being lengthened, but only
three of their toes are possessed of nails. The horn of their beak is in-
vested externally with fleshy lips, and their nose is prolonged into a little
snout. Their tail is very short, and the anal opening is pierced under its
extremity. They live in fresh water, and the flexible edges of their shell
aid them in swimming.

Trionyx cegyptiacus, Geoff. Ann. du Mus. XIV, 1 ; Test, tri-
uriguis, Forsk and Gmel. (The Tyrse, or Soft shelled Tortoise of
the Nile), is sometimes three feet in length, and of a green colour
spotted with white ; its shell is but slightly convex. It devours the
young Crocodiles the moment they leave the egg, and is thus of more
utility to Egypt than the Ichneumon J.

Test, ferox, Gm.; Penn. Phil. Trans. LXI, x, 1—3; cop.
Lacep. I, vii; Schcepf. xix. (The Soft-shelled Tortoise of Ame-
rica), inhabits the rivers of Carolina, Georgia, the Floridas, and of
Guiana. It remains in ambush under roots of reeds, &C. whence

* Add, Dermochelis atfantica, Lesueur.

f Mervem prefers calling this genus by the barbarous name of Matamata.

X Sonnini, Voy. en Egypte, torn. II, p. 333.

IggJ" (it) A large specimen of this species, caught on the coast of Devonshire, is to
be seen in the British Museum.— -Eng. Ed.

10 REPTILES.

it seizes birds, reptiles, &c, devours the young Alligators, and is
devoured in turn by the old ones. Its flesh is good food* (a).

* Add, Trionyx javanicus, Geoff. Ann. du Mus. XIV; — Tr. carinatus, Id.; — Tr.
stellatus, Id.; — Tr. euphraticus, Olivier, Voy. en Turquie, &c. pi. xlii; — Tr. gange-
ticus, Duvaucel; — Tr. granosus, Leach, or Test, granosa, Schcepf. xxx, A and B.

N. B. The Tortue de Bart ram, Voy. Am. Sept. tr. fr. I, pi. 2, appears to me to.
be the T. ferox, to which, through a mistake, two nails too many have been added
to each foot.

ggf° (a) The Turtles form a very interesting feature in the very curious branch
of Zoology connected with fossil animals. The remains which are found of them
in the fossil state are, in general, portions of the bony skeleton. In the Tilgate
Forest strata, remains have been found consisting altogether of bones, such as
ribs, completely separated from the sternum and vertebra;, vertebrae isolated, por-
tions of the sternum, pelvis, and of the femur, with the tibia, fibula, &c, and also
of the humerus, with the radius, ulna, &c. These bones are of a dark brown colour,
which may be accounted for by the iron with which they are strongly impregnated;
and their specific gravity, which is considerable, is also a proof of the presence of
iron; they are very brittle. The cellular nature of their structure, as seen in some
specimens in the magnificent museum of Mr. Mantell, in Lewes, is displayed in
a most interesting manner by the white substance (as carbonate of lime) which is
injected, and which is in many specimens seen completely to occupy the medullary
cavities of the long bones, such as the femur, humerus, &c. No considerable portion
of the shell has been found.

Remains of a species of the soft-shelled Turtles, (Trionyx), have been also found
in Tilgate Forest. Mr. Mantel), as a tribute of respect to Mr. Bakewell, the author
of one of the most popular elementary works on Geology in the English language,
gives it the name of Trionyx Bakewelli. Though the remains are undoubtedly
traceable to this subgenus, yet it differs in some respects from the modern Trionices.
Thus, the latter have the intervals between the ribs not ossified; their extremities are
not articulated to an osseous border; their surface is shagreened — is marked with
minute pits for attaching their only integument, the soft skin, They are without
scales (see the early part of the description of Trionyx above), and on the bones
accordingly, we find no marks of the margins of those scales which, in other sub-
genera, produce depressions and furrows. Now the fossil species, the Trionyx
Bakewelli, has a shagreen surface like the modern soft-shelled Turtles, but it differs
from them in having on several of its bones, a3 the rib and sternum, the impressions
of a scaly covering.

Bones of a species of fresh-water Turtles were found by this justly celebrated
geologist, (Mr. Mantell, of Lewes), in the beds of Tilgate Forest. This gentleman
sent, a few years ago, some Sussex fossils of Ibis species to Cuvier, which turned out
to be portions of the sternum (carapace). Cuvier described them as portions of a flat
but unknown species of the genus. Specimens very closely resembling it have been
discovered in the Jura limestone near Soleure, and it corresponds with a specimen
figured in the 5th vol. of Cuvier's grand work on the " Fossil Bones." But the
species with plates and ribs are the most abundant in the Tilgate strata. Other
bones have been likewise discovered, which are believed by Mr. Mantell to have be-
longed to the Marine Tortoises. The ribs in his Museum, which are supposed to
be remains of these marine animals, have a smooth surface, are equal in width
throughout their length, with extremities pointed, striated and marked with impres-
sions of scales. There are also found in the strata of this forest, portions of a
smooth osseous border, and sternal plates with margins either radiated or dentated.
Mr. Mantell has recently received from Tilgate, a fine specimen of the third sternal
plate of a Turtle, which bears a striking resemblance to that of Tcstudo Imbricata.
From the numerous fragments of turtle hones preserved in the Museum of this
meritorious naturalist, but which are too imperfect to form the foundation of any
very decided conclusions, Mr, Mantell says, that this inference can, however, be
drawn, that the strata of Tilgate contains the remains of at least three distinct kinds
of Turtle, namely, a fresh-water species, Trionyx; an unknown species of Emys;
and a marine species of the subgenus Chelonia.

The whole of the above remains have been found in the upper strata of the chalk
formations, which constitute a portion of those called the Secondary Formations. —
Eng. Ed.

SAURTANS; 11

ORDER II.

SAURIA*.— THE SAURIANS.

The Saurian Reptiles have a heart like that of the Tortoises, composed
of two auricles and one ventricle, which is sometimes divided by imperfect
partitions.

Their ribs are moveable, are partially connected with the sternum, and
can be raised or depressed in respiration.

Their lung extends more or less towards the posterior extremity of the
body; it frequently penetrates very far into the lower part of the abdo-
men, the transverse muscles of which pass under the ribs, and even
towards the neck, to clasp it. Those in which this organ is very large,
possess the singular faculty of changing the colours of their skin accord-
ing to the excitement produced in them by their wants or passions.

Their eggs are enveloped by a covering more or less hard, and the
young emerge from them with the form which they permanently keep.

Their mouth is always armed with teeth, and their toes, with very few
exceptions, are furnished with nails; their skin is covered with scales,
more or less compact, or at least with scaly granules. They couple,
either with two male organs or with one, according to their genera.
They all have a tail more or less long, and generally very thick at its
base : most of them have four legs, a few only having but two.

Linnaeus included them all in two genera, the Dragons and the
Lizards: but it has been found necessary to divide the latter into seve-
ral, which so far differ in the number of feet, &c, the shape of the
tongue, tail and scales, that we are even compelled to distribute them into
several families.

FAMILY J.

CROCODILIDA.— Tl IE CROCO DILES,

Which contains only a single genus,

Crocodilus, Br.

They have a considerable statute; their tail is flattened on the sides,
five toes before and four behind, of which only the three int< rnal one

From the Gr. sauros, (lizard), animals analogous to Li

12 REPTILES,

each foot are armed with nails, all more or less united by membranes; a
single range of pointed teeth in each jaw; the tongue fleshy, flat, and
adhering close to its edges, a circumstance which induced the antients to
believe that they had none ; a single male organ, the anal opening longi-
tudinal ; the back and tail covered with very stout, large, square scales or
plates, relieved by a ridge along their middle; a deeply notched crest on
the tail, which is double at its base. The plates on the belly are smooth,
thin, and square. Their nostrils, which open on the end of the muzzle
by two small crescent-shaped fissures closed by valves, communicate with
tiie extremity of the hind part of the mouth, by a narrow canal which
traverses the palatine and sphenoidal bones.

The lower jaw being continued behind the cranium, the upper one ap-
pears to be moveable, and has been so described by the antients ; it only
moves, however, with the entire head.

Their external ear is closed by means of two fleshy lips, and there are
three lids to their eyes. Under the throat are two small holes, the ori-
fices of glands, from which a musk-scented pomatum issues.

The vertebra? of the neck rest. on each other through the medium of
small false ribs, which renders all lateral motion difficult, and does not
allow these animals to deviate suddenly from their course; and it is easy
to escape them by turning round them. They are the only Saurians that
are destitute of clavicles, but their coracoid apophyses are attached to the
sternum, as in all the others. In addition to the common and false ribs,
there are others which protect the abdomen, without reaching to the spine,
and which appear to be produced by the ossification of the tendinous in-
sertions of the recti muscles.

Their lungs do not dip into the abdomen like those of other reptiles;
and some muscular fibres, adhering to that part of the peritoneum which
covers the liver, give them the appearance of a diaphragm, whioh, in con-
junction with the division of their heart into three chambers, where the
blood from the lungs does not mingle so perfectly with that from the body
as in other reptiles, approximate them somewhat nearer to the hot-
blooded quadrupeds.

The tympanum and pterygoid apophyses are fixed to the cranium as in
the Tortoises. Their eggs are as large and hard as those of a Goose; and
the Crocodiles are considered, of all animals, those which present the
greatest difference in size. The females keep careful watch over their
eggs, and when hatched, tenderly protect their young for some months.
They inhabit fresh water, are extremely carnivorous, cannot swallow un-
der water, but drown their prey, and place it in some submerged crevice
of a rock, where they allow it to putrify before they eat it*.

The species, which are more numerous than they were thought to be
previous to my observations, are referable to three distinct subgenera.

The Gavials, Cuv.,
Have the muzzle slender and very long; the teeth nearly equal; the

* Crocodiles differ so much from Lizards, that several authors have recently
thought it proper to form them into a separate order. They are the Loricata,
Merreni and Fitzinger; the Emydosauria, Blainv.

S/.UIUANS. 13

fourth ones below passing, when the jaws are closed, into notches, and not
into holes in the upper one ; the external edges of the hind feet are
notched, and the feet themselves palmated to the very ends of the toes ;
two large holes in the bones of the cranium behind the eyes may be felt
through the skin. They have as yet been found only in the antient con-
tinent. The most common is

Lac. gangetica, Gm. ; Gavial du Gauge, Faujas. Hist, de la
Mont, de St. Pierre, pi. xlvi ; Lacep. I, xv. A species which at-
tains a great size, and which, besides the length of its muzzle, is
remarkable for a stout cartilaginous prominence which encircles its
nostrils, and then inclines backwards*.

Crocodiles']-, properly so called,

Have an oblong and depressed muzzle, unequal teeth, the fourth ones be-
low passing into notches, and not into holes of the upper jaw, and all the
remaining characters of the preceding subgenus. They are found in
both continents.

Lac. crocodilus, L. ; Crocodile du Nil., Geoffr. Descr. de l'Egyptc,
Rep. II, 1; Ann. Mus. X, iii, 1; Cuv. lb. X, pi. 1, f. 5 and 11,
f. 7, and Oss. Foss. V, part 2, same plate and figure, (The Common
Crocodile, or Crocodile of the Nile), so celebrated among the an-
tients, has six rows of square and nearly equal plates along the
whole length of the back^.

* This prominence is the foundation of ^Elian's remark (Hist. an. LXII, c. 41),
that the Ganges produces Crocodiles which have a horn on the end of the muzzle.
See its figure and description by Geoff. St. Hilaire, Mem. du Mus. XII, p. 97.

Add, the Petit Gavial (Croc, tenuirostris, Cuv.), Faujas. loc. cit. pi. xlviii, should
it prove to he a distinct species.

N.B. The calcareous schist of Bavaria has produced a small fossil Gavial of a
peculiar species, described by Soemmering in the Mem. of the Acad, of Munich, of
1814.

I have described the crania and other parts of fossil Crocodiles allied to the Ga-
vials found at Caen, Honfleur, and other places, and marked those points in which
the osteology of their cranium differs from that of the Gavial now in existence. See
Oss. Foss. V, part 2. Similar observations have also been made in England, by M.
Conybeare. In consequence of these differences, which all relate to the hind part of
the palate, M. Geoffroy has thought proper to form two genera of these lost animals,
which he calls Theleosaurus and Steneosaurus, notwithstanding which, he ap-
pears to think that the living Gavials may have descended from them, and that the
differences between them may have resulted from atmospheric changes. Mem. du
Mus. XII.

f Krokodeilos, which fears the shure, a name given by the Greeks to a common
Lizard of their country; they afterwards, in their travels through Egypt, applied it
to the Crocodile from the mutual resemblance. Herodot. Lib. II. Merrem has
changed the name of this subgenus to that of Chamtses, which, according to Hero-
dotus, was the Egyptian name of this animal.

X From the Senegal to the Ganges, and beyond it, we find Crocodiles very similar
to the common one, some of which have a rather longer and narrower muzzle, an I
others, a difference in the plates or scales which cover the top of their neck; but it
is very difficult to arrange them as distinct species, on account of their intermediate
gradations. The small insulated scales which form a transverse row immediately
behind the cranium, vary from two, to four and six; the approximated scales which
compose the shield of the neck are generally six in number, but sometimes there is
a smaller one at but little distance from each of the anterior angles of this shield,
and at others it is contiguous to it, in which case it (the shield) consists of eight

14 REPTILES.

Croc, biporcatus, Cuv. ; Le Crocodile <'< deux aretes, Ann. Mus.
X, 1, 4 and 11, 8, and Oss. Foss. V, 2d part, same plates and fig.,
has eight rows of oval plates along the back, and two projecting
crests on the upper part of the muzzle. It is found in several
islands of the Indian Ocean, and most probably exists in the two
peninsulas.

Croc, acutus, Cuv. ; Crocodile a museau effile, Geoff. Ann. Mus.
II, xxxvii, has a longer muzzle, arched at base; the dorsal plates
arranged in four lines; the external ones disposed irregularly, and
with more salient ridges. From St. Domingo and the other great
Antilles. The female places her eggs under ground, and uncovers
them at the moment they are about to be hatched*.

Alligator -f, Cuv.
Alligators have a broad obtuse muzzle and unequal teeth, the fourth

plates or scales. M. Geoffroy calls those which have a longer and narrower muzzle,
Croc, suchus ; those whose row of scales behind the cranium consists of six pieces,
Croc, marginatus, among which some have six plates in the shield, and others eight;
Croc, lacunosus, an individual specimen which only presented two scales behind the
cranium, and six plates in the shield; and, finally, another specimen whose charac-
ters are referable to some proportions of the head, Croc, complanatus.

These various Crocodiles also differ in some of the details of the form of the
muzzle, and in the lateral scales of the back, but as regards this, and the muzzle
particularly, the varieties are still more numerous, and M. Geoffroy acknowledges
that nothing is more fugitive than the forms of Crocodiles. This is so much the case,
that I dare not elevate the Crocodiles sent from Bengal by M. Duvaucel to the rank
of species, although they have a more convex head than any of the others.

There is another point in which I am compelled to differ from the learned natu-
ralist I have just quoted. He supposes that the vai - iety or species with the narrow
muzzle remains smaller, is gentle and inoffensive, and that the smallness of its size
causes it to be soonest thrown upon the shores by inundations, of which it is thus the
precursor, and, from these ideas, is of opinion that it was the object of the religious
honours of the Egyptians, and that Suchus, or Suchis, was its specific sppellation.
On the contrary, I think I have proved, both by Aristotle and Cicero, that the Cro-
codiles venerated by the Egyptians were not less ferocious than the others; it is also
very certain, that the species with the narrow muzzle was not the exclusive object of
priestly care, for, from the very exact researches of M. Geoffroy himself, it appears
that the three embalmed Crocodiles now in Paris are not the Suchus, but the compla-
natus, the marginatus, and the lacunosus ; in fine, I am forced to believe that Souc, or
Souchis, which, according to M. Champollion, was the Egyptian name of Saturn, was
also the specific name of the Crocodile fed at Arsinoe, just as Apis was the name of
the sacred bull at Memphis, and Mtievis that of the bull of Hermopolis. With re-
spect to this point of antient history, see the various writings of M. Geoffroy, and
particularly in the great work on Egypt, as well as my Oss. Foss. torn. V. part 2,
p. 45. This last article having been written previous to that of the great work on
Egypt, I could not profit by the argument drawn from the difference of the embalmed
Crocodiles, an argument furnished me by M. Geoffroy, and one which seems to me
strongly to corroborate my view of the matter.

* The Croc, acutus has been particularly observed by M. Descourtils. — Add, the
Croc, rhombifer, Cuv. Ann. Mus. XII, pi. 1, 1; — the Croc, a casque (C. galeatus),
Perrault, Mem. pour servir a l'Hist. des An. pi. lxiv, if it should prove (being only
known by this figure) a constant species; — the Croc, bisqutatus, Cuv. Ann. Mus. X,
11, C, and Oss. Foss. t. V, part 2, pi. 11, f. 6. of which only one or two specimens
have ever been seen; — the Croc, calaphractus, Cuv. Oss. Foss. V, part 1, pi. v, f. 1
and 2.

f Or Caiman, the name given to Crocodiles by the negroes of Guinea. The
French colonists employ it to designate the species of Crocodile most common about

SAURIANS. 15

lower ones entering into holes in the upper jaw, and not. into notches;
their feet are only semi-palmate and without emarginatioh. They have
hitherto only been certainly found in America.

Croc, sclerops, Schn. ; Seb. I, civ, 10; Cuv. Ann. Mus. X, 1,
7, and 16 and 11, 3, (The Spectacle Alligator), so named from a
transverse ridge, which unites in front the salient borders of its
orbits, is the most common species in Guiana and Brazil. Its neck
is defended by four transverse bands of strong plates. The female
lays in the sand, covers her eggs with straw or leaves, and defends
them courageously*.

Croc, lucius, Cuv. ; Caiman a museau cle brocket, Ann. Mus. X,
1, 8, and 15, and II, 4, (The Pike Alligator), so called from the
shape of its muzzle, is also distinguished by four principal plates on
its neck. It inhabits the southern parts of North America, forces
itself into the mud, and remains torpid in severe winters. The fe-
male deposits her eggs in alternate layers with beds of earth "j" («).

their plantations. The word Alligator is used by the English and Dutch colonists in
the same sense. It is a corruption of the Portuguese word Lagarto, which is itself
derived from Lacerta.

* There are also several sorts of Caimans or Alligators, which have this trans-
verse ridge front of the orbits, and which, like the Crocodiles, allied to the common
one, perhaps form distinct species, but difficult to characterize.

Some of them have a shorter and more rounded muzzle; the transverse ridge con-
cave before, and extending to the cheek on each side. They have thirteen teeth on
each side above; their cranium is not widened behind; their body is green dotted,
and spotted with black, with black bands on the tail.

Others have the same kind of head, and the same teeth, but their body is black,
with narrow bands that are yellowish, as in the Jacare noir, Spix, pi. iv.

Others, again, have a muzzle less broad, and the concave ridge does not extend so
far; they have fifteen teeth, and their neck is more completely defended by plates; I
should willingly consider them as the Cr. fissipes of Spix, pi. iii.

Finally, there are some with a still narrower muzzle, and the cranium somewhat
widened behind, whose transverse ridge is convex in front, and does not extend on
the cheek; the ridge of their dorsal plates is less salient, and the bands on their tail
are more faintly marked: can they be the Cr. punctulatus of Spix, pi. ii? That gen-
tleman, unfortunately, has not insisted upon the characters drawn from the trans-
verse ridge.

f See, on this species, the paper of Dr. Harlan, Ac. of Nat. Sc. of Philad. IV,
242. — Add, the Caiman a paupieres osseuses (Croc, palbebrosus, Cuv.), Ann. Mus. X,
pi. 1, C and 7, and 11,2; and the Croc, trigonatus, Schn., Seb. I, cv, 3; or the Jacare-
tinga moschifer, Spix, pi. i. The whole thickness of the eye-lid, in this species, is
occupied by three osseous lamella?, of which, in other Crocodiles, there is scarcely a
vestige.

IggT (a) Fossil remains of Crocodiles are found in the Secondary formations of
the south-east of Sussex, and in each of the series composing these formations, from
the Oolite to the Chalk, both included. The Tertiary deposits likewise contain them.
Some teeth found in Tilgate Forest, by Mr. Mantel], have all the essential charac-
ters of those of living Crocodiles, and they are calculated by that experienced geolo-
gist to have belonged to animals between twenty and thirty feet long. The fragments
of the bones of Crocodiles, in the possession of Mr. Mantell, are those of at least
two species, if not of four. They consist of teeth, scales, vertebrae, ribs, and other
bones. Teeth of fossil Crocodiles are also abundant in the Wealden formation, re-
sembling those of the Jura limestone, and those of the Gavials. — Eno. Ed.

1G REPTILES.

FAMILY II.

LACERTINIDA*.— THE LIZARDS.

This family is distinguished by its thin extensible tongue, which ter-
minates in two threads, like that of the Coluber and Viper; their body is
elongated; their walk rapid; each foot has five toes armed with nails,
separate and unequal, the hind ones particularly so; the scales beneath
the belly and round the tail are arranged in transverse and parallel bands ;
the tympanum is level with the head, or but slightly sunk, and membran-
ous. A production of the skin with a longitudinal slit which is closed
by a sphincter, protects the eye, under whose anterior angle is the vestige
of a third eye-lid; the false ribs do not form a complete circle; the male
organs of generation are double, and the anus is a transverse slit.

The species being very numerous and various, we subdivide them into
two great genera.

The Monitors, recently denominated, by a singular error,
TupiNAMBisf ,

Are those in which the species are of the largest size; they have two
teeth in both jaws, but none in the palate; the greater number are recog-
nized by their laterally compressed tail, which renders them more aquatic.
The vicinity of water sometimes brings them in the neighbourhood of
Crocodiles and Alligators, and it is said that by hissing they give notice
of the approach of these dangerous reptiles. This assertion is most
probably the origin of the term Safeguard or Monitor, applied to some of
their species, but the fact is not the less certain. They are divided
into two very distinct groups. The first, or that of the

Monitors, properly so called,

Is known by numerous and small scales on the head and limbs, under
the belly and round the tail ; on the top of the latter is a carina formed
by a double row of projecting scales. The range of pores observed on
the thighs of several other Saurians is not found in these. They are all
from the eastern continent J. Two species are found in Egypt, which
may be considered as the types of two subdivisions.

* Itaceria, a Lizard.

f Marcgrave, speaking of the Sauvegarde of America, says that it is called Teyu-
gauqu, and among the T upinambous, Temapara {Temapara tupinambis). Seba has
mistaken the latter name for that of the animal, and all other naturalists have copied
it from him.

X Seba, and from him Daudin, describe some true Monitors as American; it is a
mistake.

sauriaKs. 17

Lac. nilotica, L.; Monitor du Nil; Ouaran of the Arabs; Mus.
Worm. 313; Geoff. St. Hil. great work on Egypt, Rep. pi. 1,
f. 1. (The Monitor of the Nile). Strong conical teeth, the poste-
rior of which become rounded by age; brown, with pale and deeper
coloured dots, forming various compartments, among which we ob-
serve transverse rows of large ocelhited spots that become rings on
the tail. The latter, round at the base, is transversed above by a carina,
which extends almost from root to tip. It attains a length of five
and six feet. The Egyptians pretend it is a young Crocodile hatched
in a dry place. It was engraved upon the monuments of that coun-
try by its antient inhabitants, and, possibly, because it devours the
eggs of the Crocodile*. The other species,

Lac. scincus, Merr. ; Le Monitor terrcstre d'Egypte; Ouaran el
hard of the Arabs, Geoff. Egypt. Rept. Ill, f. 2, (The Great
Ouran), has compressed, trenchant, and pointed teeth; the tail
almost without a keel, and round much farther from the root; its
habits are more terrestrial, and it is common in the deserts in the
vicinity of Egypt. The jugglers of Cairo, after extracting its teeth,
employ it in their exhibitions. It is the Land Crocodile of Hero-
dotus, and, as Prosper Albin remarks, the true Scincus of the
antients-j-.

India and Africa produce a great number of Monitors with
trenchant teeth like those of the preceding species, but whose tail is
more compressed than even that of the Monitor of the Nile. The
ojie most common in the Indian Archipelago, is the

Lac. bivittata, Kuhl. (The Two-banded Monitor), which is white
above, black beneath, with five transverse rows of white spots or rings.
A white band extends along the neck, and there is an angle formed
by the white on the breast, which reaches obliquely over the shoulder.
Specimens have been found three feet in length J.
The other group of Monitors possesses angular plates on the head,

* To this species, both by the form of the teeth and the arrangement of the spots,
which, by the bye, are similar in almost all the Monitors, must be referred the M.
orne (M. ornatus, Daud.), Ann. Mus. II, xlviii, Luc. capensis, Sparm., and the M. al-
bogularis, Daud. Rept. Ill, pi. xxxii.

It is from this subdivision that M. Fitzingerhas made his genus Varanus, under
which name Merrem comprised all the Monitors.

f This species constitutes the genus Psammosaurus of M. Fitzinger.

X To this species, from the form of the teeth and the distribution of colours, must
be attached the T. bigare, Daud. (Lac. varia, Shaw, Nat. Misc. 83, J. White, 253);—
a neighbouring species of Manilla (M. marmoratus, C); — the T. elegant and the T.
etoile, Daud. Ill, xxxi, and Seb. I, xciv, 1, 2, 3, xcviii, xcix, 2; II, xxx, 2, xc, cv, 1,
&c, all of which are but one species, originally from Africa. We must add, the T. cepe-
dini, Daud. Ill, xxiv, or Lac. exanthematica, Bosc. Act. Soc. Nat. Par. pi. v, f. 3,
ocellated throughout; — the M. dotted with brown of Bengal (M. bengalensis, Daud.);
the black M. spotted with green of the Moluccas (A/, indicus, Daud.); — a species of
a uniform black from Java (M. nigricans, Cuv.), &c.

All things considered, I have now reason to believe that the fig. of Seba, I, pi. ci,
f. 1, of which Linnaeus made his Lacerta dracana, but which is very different from
the Dragonne of Lacep., is the M. bengalensis. Seba's original is in the Museum.

To these species with a compressed tail, M. Fitzinger applies the generic name of

TiiJ'INAMBIS.

18 REPTILES.

and large rectangular scales on the belly and round the tail. The skin
of the throat, covered with small scales, is doubled into two transverse
folds. There is a row of pores on the under part of their thighs*. This
group is also susceptible of subdivisions : the first forms

CROCODILURUsf, Spix,

Which have, for their distinguishing character, scales relieved by ridges,
as in the Crocodiles, forming crests on the tail, which is compressed.

Mon. erocodilinus, Merr. ; La Grande Dragonne, Lacep. Quadr.
Ovip. pi. ix, (The Great Dragon), has ridged scales scattered also
along the back. Its back teeth become rounded with age. It attains
a length of six feet, and lives in Guiana, in burrows near marshes :
its flesh is eaten.

Lac. bicarinata, L. ; Le Lezardet, Daud. ; Crocodilurus ama-
zonicus, Spix, pi. xxi, is smaller, and has none of the aforesaid kind
of scales on the back. It is found in several parts of South America.
The second, the

Safeguards- — Sauvegardes, Cuv.,

Have all the scales of the back and tail carinate: the teeth are notched,

but with age the back ones also become rounded J.

Some of them, more particularly termed Safeguards, have a tail that

is more or less compressed; the scales on the belly are longer than they

are broad. They live on the banks of rivers, &c. Such in particular is
Lac. teguixin, Lin. and Shaw, (the Great Safeguard of America) ;
the Teyu-guazu; Temapara, &c. ; Seb. I, xcvi, 1, 2, 3, xcvii, 5,
xcix, 1, has yellow dots and spots disposed in transverse bands, on
a black ground above, and a yellowish one beneath; yellow and
black bands on the tail §. In Brazil and Guiana it attains the
length of six feet. It moves rapidly on shore, and when pursued
hastens to the water for refuge, where it dives, but does not swim.
It feeds on all sorts of insects, reptiles, eggs, &c, and lays in holes
which it excavates in the sand. Both flesh and eggs are edible ||.

Others, called Ameivas^[, only differ from the preceding in the tail,

* Merremhas made his genus Teius from this second group.

t M. Gray has changed this name into Ada.

X It is to such that M. Fitzinger particularly applies the name of Monitor.

§ Dried specimens, or those preserved in spirits, assume a greenish or bluish tint
in those parts where the colours are light, and it is thus that they are represented by
Seba; but while alive, and as we have seen it, the light parts are more or less yellow.
Pr. Max. de Wied has given a good picture of it in his eleventh No.

|| Add the Tupin. A laches vertcs of Daud., if it be not a simple variety of Sauve-
gnrde. Spix calls it Tup. monitor, pi. xix; it is his. T. nigropunctatus, which is the
true Sauvegarde.

^[ According to Marcgrave, the term Ameiva designates a Lizard with a forked tail,
a circumstance which can only be the result of accident; Edwards having had in his
possession an individual of the above division, in which this accident was observed,
applied that term to the whole species. Marcgrave compares his individual to his
1'araguira, which, from his description, is rather a Polt/chrus.

SAURIANS. 19

which is round, and nowise compressed, furnished, as well as the belly,
with transverse rows of square scales; those on the belly are more broad
than long. They are American Lizards, tolerably similar, externally,
to those which represent them in Europe; but besides the want of molars,
most of them have no collar, and all the scales of the throat are small;
their head also is more pyramidal than that of the European Lizards, and
they have not, like the latter, a bony plate on the orbit.

Several species have been confounded under the name of Lacrrta
ameiva, some of which it is still very difficult to distinguish. The
most common, Teyus ameiva, Spix, XXIII; Pr. Max. de Wied.
liv. V, is a foot long or more ; green ; the back more or less dotted
and spotted with black, and vertical rows of white ocellated spots
bordered with black, on the flanks.

There is another, Teyus cyaneus, Merr. ; Lacep. I, xxxi, Seb.
II, cv, 2, about the same size, of a bluish colour, with round white
spots scattered over the flanks and sometimes on the body. The
young of these animals, and of some others of the same subdivision,
have blackish stripes on the sides of the back, a fact worth remem-
bering to avoid an undue multiplication of species*.

We may separate from the Ameivas certain species, all the scales of
whose belly, legs, and tail, are carinatedf, and others in which even
those on the back are similarly relieved, so that the Hanks only are granu-
lated J. A collar under the neck also approximates these species to the
lizards §.

The Lizards, properly so called,

Form the second genus of the Lizards. They have the bottom of their
palate armed with two rows of teeth, and they are otherwise distinguished

* Sucli, it appears to me, is the Teyus ocellifer, Spix, xxv.

Add the Am. litterata, Daud. Seb. I, lxxxiii; — Am. cceraleocephala, Id. Seb. I, xci,
3; — Am. lateristriga, Cuv. Seb. I, xc, 7;— Am. lemniscata (Laccrt. lemnis, Gin.), Seb.
I, xcii, 4; — Teius tritceniatus, Spix, xxi, 2; — T. cyanomelas, Pr. Max. Liv. v. [Add,
Am. sex-lineata, Catesb. 6S. — Eng. Ed.]

It is impossible to say from what confusion of synonymes Daud. has placed the
Am. litterata in Germany; like all the others, it is from America. The Am. gra-
phique, Daud. Seb. I, Ixxxv, 2, 4, is the Dotted Monitor; his Am. argus, Seb. i,
lxxxv. 3, is the Mon. cepedien; his goitreux, Seb. II, ciii, 3, 4, does not differ from
the litterata; finally, his tete rouge, Seb. I, xci, 1, 2, is a common Green Lizard. He
was probably led into error by the coloured plates of Seba. The Lac. 5-lineata
appears to me to be a L. coeruleocepliala, a part of whose broken tail had grown again
with small scales, as is always the case when that accident happens; the axis of this
new portion of the tail is always, also, a cartilaginous stem without vertebra?. It is
impossible to characterize species by similar accidental circumstances, as Merrem
has done in his Teyus monitor and cyaneus.

f In one sex of one of these species, there are two small spines on each side of the
anus, which circumstance gave rise to the genus Centropyx of Spix, XXII, 2.

X The Lizard stric of Surinam, Daud. Ill, p. 347, of which Fitzinger makes his
genus Pseudo-Ameiva.

§ It appears to me that even the Centropyx has palatine teeth: these two sorts of
Lizards, however, have the head of an Ameiva, no bone on the orbit, &c. N. B. Fitz-
inger makes a genus (Teyus) of the Lizard teyou, Daud., which should have but
font toes to the hind feet; its only foundation, however, is an imperfect description
of Azzara, and it does not seem to me sufficiently authentic.

c 2

20 REPTILES.

from the Ameivas and Safeguards by a collar under the neck, formed of
a transverse row of large scales, separated from those on the belly by a
space covered with small ones only, like those under the throat; and by
the circumstance that a part of the cranium projects over their temples
and orbits, so as to furnish the whole top of the head with a bony
buckler.

They are very numerous, and our country produces several species
confounded by Linnaeus under the name of Lacerta agilis. The
most beautiful is the Grand Lezard vert ocelle, — Lac. ocellata,
Daud.; Lacep. I, xx; Daud. Ill, xxxiii; from the south of France,
Spain, and Italy. (The Ocellated Lizard). It is more than a foot
long, of a beautiful green, with lines of black dots, forming rings or
eyes and a kind of embroidery; the young, according to Milne
Edwards, is the Lezard gentil, Daud. Ill, xxxi. The Lac. viridis,
(The Green Lizard), Daud. Ill, xxxiv, of which the Lac. bilineata,
Id. xxxvi, 1, according to the same gentleman, is a variety;— the
Lac. septum, Id. lb. 2, of which the Lac. arcnicola, Id. xxxviii, 2,
is a variety ; — and the Lac. agilis, Id. xxxviii, 1 , are found in the
environs of Paris. The south of France produces the Veloce, Pall.,
to which must be referred the Bosquien, Daud. xxxvi, 2, and some
new species*.

The Algyres — Algyra, Cuv.
Have the tongue, teeth, and femoral pores of the Lizards, but the scales
of the back and tail are carinated, those of the belly smooth and imbri-
cated. The collar is wanting j.

The Tachydromes, or Swift Lizards — Tachydromus J, Daud.

Have square and carinated scales on the back, under the belly, and on the
tail; neither collar nor femoral pores, but on each side of the anus is a
small vesicle opening by one pore. The tongue is still like that of the
Lizards, and the body and tail are very much elongated.

FAMILY III.

THE IGUANAS.— IGUANIDA§.

All the family of Saurians possess the general form, long tail, and free
and unequal toes of the Lizards; their eye, ear, penis, anus, are simi-

* I add, but with hesitation, the Lac.cericea, Laur. 11, 5; argus, Id. 5; terrestris,
Id. Ill, 5. The tiliguerta of Daudin is made up of an American Ameiva and the
green Lizard of Sardinia, from a bad description by Cetti. The ccerule ocephala, the
lemniscata, the quinquelineata, are Ameivas. The sexlineala, Catesb. XLVIII, is a
Seps.

N.B. With due submission to our author, this appears to be a mistake, the
sexlineata, Catesb., is most certainly an Ameiva. — Eng. Ed.

f Lac. alegyra, Lin.

X Tachus and dromon, (Gr.), Quick-runner.

§ Iguane, a name according to Hernandez, Scaliger, &c. originating in St. Domingo,

SAURIANS. 21

lar, but their tongue is fleshy, thick, non-extensible, and only emarginated
at the tip.

We may divide them into two sections; the first, or that of the Aga-
mians, have no palatine teeth. In this section we place the following
genera,

The Stellions — Stellio, Cuv.

Which have, with the general characters of the family of the Iguanida
the tail encircled by rings composed of large and frequently spiny scales
The subgenera are as follows :

Cordylus*, Gronov.

The tail, belly, and back covered with large scales arranged in trans-
verse rows. The head, like that of the common lizards, is protected by
a continuous bony buckler, and covered with plates. In several species
the points of the scales on the tail form spiny circles ; there are small
spines also to those on the sides of the back, on the shoulders, and out-
sides of the thighs, on which latter there is a line of very large pores.

The Cape of Good Hope produces several species long confounded
under the name of Lacerta cordylus, L. These Saurians, whose
armour so completely defends them, are a little larger than the com-
mon Green Lizards of Europe, and feed on insects \.

Stellio J, Daud.

The Stellios have the spines of the tail moderate : the head enlarged
behind by the muscles of the jaws ; the back and thighs bristled here and

whose inhabitants must have pronounced it Hiuana, or Igoann. According to Bon-
tius it originated in Java, where the natives call it Legtian. In this case the Por-
tuguese and Spaniards carried it to America transformed to Iguana. They apply it
there now to a Sauvegarde, as a true Iguana. This name, as well as that of Guano,
has occasionally been given to Monitors of the eastern continent. The reader of
travels should bear this in mind; I even consider the Leguan of Bontius as a
Monitor.

* According to Aristotle, " the Cordylus is the only animal possessing feet and
branchiae. It swims with its feet and tail, the latter of which, as far as large tilings
can be compared with small, is similar to that of a Silurus. This tail is soft and
broad. It has no fins: it lives in marshes, like the Frog: it is a quadruped, and
leaves the water: sometimes it is dried up and dies."

It is evident that these characters can only belong to the larva of the aquatic
Salamander, as M. Schneider has very justly observed. Belon has described this
Salamander by the name of Cordyle, but his printer, by mistake, annexed to it the
figure of the Lac. nilotica, L. Rondelet has applied this name to the great Stellio of
Egypt, or Caudiverbera of Belon, mistaking the ear, in the figure, for a gill opening.
Between Ilondelet and Limueus, then, Cordylus has passed for the synonymes of the
Caudiverbera. Its special application to the above subgenus is altogether arbitrary.
Merrem has changed it to Zoni-ros.

f Daudin has referred several synonymes of Stellio to Cordylus, just as he 1km
referred to Stellio several synonymes of the Geckotte. There are four species in
France: Cord, griseus, Nob. Seb. I, lxxxiv, 4; — the C. fdger, the ridges of whose
scales are more blunt, Seb. II, lxii, 5; — the Q.dorsdlis; — the C. microlepidolus.

There are also some Cordyles at the Cape of G. Hepe, whose scales (even those
on the tail) are almost destitute of spines (C. lievigatus, Nob.)

X The Stellio of the Latins was a spotted Lizard that lived in holes of walls. It
was considered the enemy of man, venomous and cunning. Hence the term stellio-

gg REPTILES.

there with scales larger than the others, and sometimes spiny; small
groups of spines surrounding the ear; no pores on the thighs; the tail t
long, and terminating in a point, But one species is known.

Lac. stellio, L. ; the Stellio of the Levant; Seb. I, cvi, f. 1, 2;
and better Tournef. Voy. an Lev. I, 120; and Geoff. Descr. de
l'Egypte, Rept. II, 3; Koscordt/los, of the modern Greeks ; Har-
dun of the Arabs. (The Common Stellio). A foot long; of an
olive colour shaded with black ; very common throughout the Levant,
and particularly so in Egypt. According to B61on, it is the feces
of this animal which are collected for the druggists under the names
of cordylea, crocodiled or stercus lacerti, which were formerly in
vogue as a cosmetic; but it would rather appear that the antients
attributed this name and quality to those of the Monitor. The
Mahometans 'kill the present Stellio wherever they see it, because,
as they say, it mocks them by bowing the head, as they do when at
prayer,

DoRYPHORUS, CUV.

The pores wanting as in the Stellios, but the body is not bristled with
small groups of spines*.

Uromastix -j\ Cuv. — Stellions Batards, Daud.
Mere Stellios, whose head is not enlarged, all the scales of their body
being small, smooth, and uniform, and those of the tail still larger and
more spiny than in the common Stellio; but there are no:ie beneath.
There is a series of pores under their thighs.

Stellio spinipes, Daud. ; Fouette-queue d^Egypte, Geoff. Rept.
d'Egyp. pi. II, f. 2. (The Common Uromastyx). Two or three
feet long; the body inflated; altogether of a fine grass green; small
spines on the thighs; the tail only spiny above. Found in the
deserts which surround Egypt ; it was formerly described by Belon,
who says, but without adducing proof, that it is the terrestrial Cro-
codile of the antients %.

Agama %, Daud.
The Agama? bear a great resemblance to the cammon Stellios, parti-
cularly in their inflated head; but the scales of their tail, which are im-

vate, or Fraud in the contract. It was probably the Tarentole, or the Gecko tubercu/eux
of the south of Europe, Geckotte of Laeep., as conjectured by various authors, and
lately by M. Schneider. There is nothing to justify its application to the present
species; Belon, if I am not mistaken, was the first who abused it thus.

* Stellio brevicaudatus, Seb. If, lxxii, 6; Daud. IV, pi. 47. St. azurens, Daud,,
Id. 46,

f Caudiverbera and the Greek ouromastix, are not ancient names. They were
Coined by Ambrnsinus lor the great Egyptian species, of which Belon had said
11 cauda tttrocissimi diverberare creditur, Linnaeus was the first who applied it to a
Gecko* and other authors ha\<' given it to different Saulians. Add, Urofri. grisens of
New Holland ;■— Ur. teticutatui of Bengal ; — Vr. acantinurus, Bell, Zool. Jour. I, 457,
if it be a distinct species.

N.B. The flaMailed Stellio of New Holland, Daud., is a l'hyllurus.

!: It is ., Uromasth tbai Is described by M de Lacep. Kept. II, 497, under the
name of QaetepakO) which is that of another Saurian, to be spoken of hereafter.—
Add, Ur. ornatuSf Rupp I
§ A$ama\ from th< Greel ogams (ba heloi Why \ innseus gave this name to

SAURIAXS. 23

bricate and not verticillate, distinguish them from tliat genus. Their
maxillary teeth are nearly similar, and there are none in the palate.
In the

Common Agam^e,

The scales are raised in points or tubercles; spines eitber singly or in
groups bristle on various parts of the body, the vicinity of the ear espe-
cially. A row of them is sometimes seen on the neck, but without form-
ing that palisado-like crest which characterizes the Calotes. The skin of
the throat is lax, plaited transversely, and capable of being inflated.
In some species are found femoral pores. The

Ag. barbata, N., (The Ocellated Agama), is very remarkable
for its size and extraordinary figure; a suite of large spiny scales
extends along its back and tail in transverse bands, and approximate
it to the Stellios. The throat, which can be greatly inflated, is
covered with elongated and pointed scales, which make for it a sort
of beard. Similar scales bristle on the flanks, and form two oblique
crests behind the ears ; yellowish spots edged with black under the
belly. We must not confound with it the

Lac. murieata, Sh. ; the Muricated Aqama of the same country,
Gen. Zool. Vol. Ill, part 1, pi. lxv, f. 11; "White, p. 244, in this
the raised scales are disposed in longitudinal bands, between which
are two series of spots paler than the ground, which is a blackish
brown. It usually attains a large size.

Other species have no femoral pores.

Ag. colonorum, Daud. ; Seb. I, cvii, 3*. (The Colonial Agama).
Brownish, with a long tail; a small row of short spines on the neck;
from Africa, and not, as is asserted, from Guiana.

There is a smaller Agama at the Cape, with a moderate tail,
varied with brown and yellowish, bristled above with raised and
pointed scales, the Ag. aculeata, Merr.-f ; Seb. I, viii, 6, lxxxiii,

one of these Lizards, it is impossible to conjecture; Daudin has extended it to the
whole of the subgenus to which this species belongs, and thinks that Agama is the
name given to it in the country of which it is a native.

A new species called torquala has lately been described by Messrs. Peale and
Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. Vol. VI, p. 231, from Mexico, which they con-
sider as approaching the nigricollis, Spix. — Eng. Ed.

* Nothing can equal the confusion of the synonymes quoted by authors with
respect to the different species of Lizards, and chiefly under divers Agama, Calotes
and Stellios. The Agama, for instance, Daudin quotes from Gmelin, Seb. I, cvii,
1 and 2, which are Stellios; Sloane, Jam. II, eclxxiii, 2, which is an Anolis, Edw.
ccxlv, 2, which is also an Anolis; and the same fig. is again quoted by him and
Gmel. for the Polychrus. Shaw even copies it to represent that same animal, with
which it has nothing in common. Seb. I, cvii, 3, which is the true Ag. colonorum,
Daud., is cited by Merrem as Ag. superciliosa ; and Seb. I, cix, 6, which is his
aculeata, is quoted as orbicularis, &c.

f The Agame a pierreries, Daud. IV, 410; Seb. I, viii, 6, is merely the young of
this spiny Agama of the Cape, whose colours are more various than those of the
adult. Add the Ag- sombre (Ag.atra), Daud. Ill, 340; rough, blackish; a yellowish
line along the back; — the Ag. ombre (Lac. umbra) Daud., which is not the Lac umbra.
Lin., but distinguished from it by five lines of very small spines, which extend along
the back, etc.

21 REPTILES.

1 and 2, cix, 6 ; its belly sometimes assumes an inflated form, which
leads to the

Tapayes — Agames Orbiculaires, Daud. in part,

Which are mere Agamas, with an inflated abdomen and a short and thin
tail. Such is

Lac. orbicularis, L. ; Tapayaxin of Mexico, Hern. 327. The
back is spinous, and the belly sprinkled with blackish points*.

Trapelus, Cuv.

The Trapeli or Mutable Agamas have the form and teeth of the Agama?,
but the scales are small and without spines; no pores on the thighs.

Trap. JEgyptius; Le Changeant d'Egypte, Geoff, Rep. d'Eg.
pi. v, f. 3, 4. (The Mutable Agama). The adult, Daud. Ill,
xlv, 1, under the name of Orbicular, is a little animal whose body
is also sometimes inflated, and remarkable for changing its colours
even more suddenly than the Chameleon. When young, it is en-
tirely smooth; there are some scales a little larger scattered among;
the others on the body of the adult -f.

Leiolepis, Cuv.

Have the teeth of the Agamse, the head less inflated, and are completely
covered with very small, smooth, and compact scales. Pores on the
thighs J. The

Tropidolepis, Cuv.
Are similar to the Agamic in teeth and form, but regularly covered with
imbricated and carinated scales. The series of pores are strongly marked §.
The

Leposoma, Spix. — Tropidosaurus, Boie,

Only differ from Tropidolepis, by having no pores [|.

Calotes**, Cuv.

The Calotes differ from the Agamas in being regularly covered with
scales, arranged like tiles, frequently carinated and terminating in a point

* I do not think the subgenus of the Tapayes can be preserved; the species of
Hernandez (Lac. orbicularis, L.), Hern., p. 327, does not appear to differ from the
Agama cornuta of Harlan, Phil. Ac. Nat. Sc. IV, pi. xlv, or, if at all, only from the
sex. Daudin has put in its place, torn. Ill, pi. xlv, f. 1, the adult of the Tap.
mgyptuts.

f It is difficult to establish precise limits between this subgenus and certain short,
thick Agamse, that have but few spines.

% There is a species in Cochin China that is blue, with white stripes and spots,
and a long tail (Lett, gutlatus, Cuv.)

§ Ag. nndulata, Daud., a species that is found throughout America, remarkable
for a white cross under the throat, on a black-blue ground. The Ag. nigricollarls,
Spix, XVI, 2, and cyclurus, XVIII, f. 1, are at least closely allied to it.

|| Spix has not expressed himself with precision in saying that the scales of his
leposoma are verticillate, and this it is which has deceived M. Fitzinger. The genus
Tropidosaurus was made by Boie from a small species from Cochin China, which is
in the Cabinet du Roi.

** Pliny says that the Stellio of the Latins was called by the Greeks Galcotes,

SAURIANS. 25

on the body as well as the limbs and tail, which is very long; those on
the middle of the back are more or less turned up, and compressed into
spines, forming a crest of variable extent. They have no dewlaps or
visible pores on the thighs, which, added to their teeth, distinguish
them from the Iguana?.

The most common species, Lac. calotes, L. ; Seb. I, lxxxix, 2 ;
xciii, 2; xcv, 3 and 4; Daud. Ill, xliii; Agama ophiomachus,
Merr., is of a pretty light blue, with transverse white streaks on the
sides; there are two rows of spines behind the ear. From the East
Indies. It is called a Chameleon in the Moluccas, although it does
not change its colours. Its eggs are fusiform*. The

Lophyrtjs, Dumeril,

Have the scales of the body similar to those of the Agama?; there is
also a crest of palisado-like scales still higher than that of the Calotes.
The tail is compressed, and the femoral pores are wanting. A remark-
able species is,

Agama gigantea\, Kuhl. ; Seb. I, c. 2, whose dorsal crest is
placed, very high on the neek, and is formed of several rows of ver-
tical scales; two bony ridges, one on each side, extend from the
muzzle to the eye, where they terminate in a point, and join on the
temple. This singular Saurian appears to belong to India. The

GoNOCEPHALUS, Kdlip.,

Are closely allied to Lophyrus; their cranium also forms a sort of disk,
by means of a ridge, which terminates in a notch above each eye. There
is a dewlap and a crest on the neck. The tympanum is visible J.

Colotes, and Askalabotes. It was, as we have seen, the Geckot/e of Lacep. Its ap-
plication, by Linnaeus, to Lac. calotes, is arbitrary, and was suggested to him by
Seba. Spix comprises our Calotes in his genus Lophyrus, which is not the same as
that of Dumeril.

* Add, the Ag. gutfurosa, Merr., or cristatella, Kuhl.; blue, without bands, and
small scales on the back; Seb. I, lxxxix, 1; — the Ag. cristata, Merr., Seb. I, xiiii, 1,
and II, lxxvi, 5, a reddish brown, with .blackish brown scattered spots, of which tbe
Agame arlequine, Daud. Ill, xliv, is the young; — the Ag. vultuosa, Harl. Phil. Ac.
Nat. Sc. IV, xix (a). All these species are from the East Indies; the Lophyrws
ochrocollaris and margarilaceus, Spix, XII, 2, are American Calotes; the first is thte
same as the Agama picta, Pr. Max.; the Loph. panther a, Spix, pi. xxiii, f. 1, is the
young of the same. Add to these American Calotes, Loph. rhombifer, Spix, xi, of
which the Loph. abomaxillaHs, Id. XXIII, f. 2, is the young; — Loph. auronitens,
Spix, pi. xiii. We might separate from the other Calotes a species from Cochin
China, with a smooth back, without any visible scales; the belly, limbs, and tail co-
vered with carinated scales (Cal. lepidogaster, Nob.); the Ag. catenata, Pr. Max. liv.
V, may belong to this group.

N.B. The designer of Seba's plates has given to most of his Iguana, Agama 1 ,
Calotes, &c, extensible and forked tongues, drawn from imagination.

\ It is difficult to imagine the reason that induced Kuhl to call this Saurian
gigantic, as it is not larger than its most closely allied Aganue and Calotes.

J Isis, 1825, I, p. 590, pi. iii.

ggf" (a) Major Le Comte seems to have ascertained that the Ag. vultuosa is the
young of another species. — Eng. Ed.

26 REPTILES.

Lyriocephalus, Merr.,

Unite with the characters of Lophyrus; a tympanum concealed under the
skin and muscles, like that of the Chameleon : they also have a dorsal
crest and a carinated tail.

In the species known, Lyrio margaritaceus, Merr. ; Lacerta scu-
tata, L. ; Seb. cix, c, the bony crest of the eye-brows is still larger
than in the Ag. gigantea, and terminates behind, on each side, in a
sharp point. Large scales are scattered among the small ones on
the body and limbs; imbricated and carinated scales on the tail; a
soft, though scaly enlargement on the end of the muzzle. This
truly singular species is found in Bengal and other parts of India*.
It feeds on grain.

Brachylophus, Cuv.

Have small scales ; the tail somewhat compressed : a slightly salient crest
on the neck and back; a small dewlap, a series of pores on each thigh,
and, in a word, a strong resemblance to the Iguanse; but they have no
palatine teeth; those of the jaws are denticulate. Such is

Ulguane a bandes, Brong., Essai et Mem. des Sav. Etr. I, pi.

x, f. 5. (The Banded Iguana). From India. It is a deep blue,

with light blue bands.

PlIYSIGNATHUS, CuV.

Have, with the same teeth, the same scales and pores; the head very
much enlarged behind, and without the dewlap ; a crest of large pointed
scales on the back and tail, which is strongly compressed.

Ph. coeincinus, Nob., is a large species from Cochin China; blue,

with stout scales, and some spines on the enlargements of the sides

of the head. It lives on fruit, nuts, &c.

Istiurus, Cuv. — LoPHURAf, Gray.

The distinguishing character of this genus consists in an elevated and
trenchant crest, which extends along a - part of the tail, and which is sup-
ported by the high spinous apophyses of the vertebrae; this crest is scaly
like the rest of the body; the scales on the belly and tail are small, and

* From this Lyriocephalus, the Pnkustes of Merrem, and the Phrynocephalus
of Kaup, Fitzinger forms a family called Pneustoidea, which he approximates to
that of the Chameleons. The Pneustes depend altogether on a vague and imperfect
description of Azzara, II, 401, on which, also, Daudin had established his Agame a
queue pre nante, III, 440; Azzar. says that its ear is not visible, probably because it is
very small. The Phrynocephalus is composed of the Lac. guttata and the Lac.
uralensis, Lepechin. Yoy. I, p. .'517, pi. xxii, f. 1 and 2, which form but one species.
Kaup asserts that it has no external tympanum (Isis of 1825, I, 591). Not having
seen these animals, I hesitate as to their classification. Another subgenus will
probably have to be made of the Lezard a oreilles, (Lac. aurita, Pall.), Daud. Ill,
xlv, remarkable for the faculty it possesses of inflating the two sides of the head
under the ears: I have not, however, been able to examine it.

1 have changed this name of Lophura, which is too much like that of Lophyrus.

SAURIANS. 27

approach somewhat to a square form; the teeth are strong, compressed,
and without dentieulations : there are none in the palate : there is a series
of femoral pores. The skin of the throat is smooth and lax, but without
forming a dewlap.

Lac. amboinensis, Gm. ; the Amboina Lophura, Le Porte-
Crete, Lacep. ; Schlosser, Monog. cop. Bonnat. Erpet. pi. v, f. 2.
The crest confined to the origin of the tail; some spines on the
front of the back; lives in water, or on the shrubs about its shores;
feeds on seeds and worms. We have discovered in its stomach
both leaves and insects. It is sometimes found four feet in length.
Its flesh is edible.

Draco*, L.

The Dragons are distinguished at the first glance, from all other Sau-
rians, by their first six false ribs, which, instead of encircling the abdo-
men, extend outwards in a straight line, and support a production of the
skin, forming a kind of wing that may be compared to that of a Bat, but
which is not connected with the four feet; it acts like a parachute in sup-
porting them when they leap from one branch to another, but has not suffi-
cient power to resist the air and raise them like a bird. Besides, the
Dragons are small animals, completely invested with little imbricated
scales, of which those on the tail and limbs are carinated. Their tongue
is fleshy, and somewhat extensible. A long pointed dewlap hangs under
their throat, supported by the tail of the os hyoides; there are also two
smaller ones on the sides attached to the horns of the same bone. The
tail is long; there are no porous granules on the thighs, and there is a
little notch on the nape of the neck. Four small incisors are found in
each jaw, and on each side a long and pointed canine, and twelve triangu-
lar and trilobate grinders.

They consequently have the scales and dewlap of the Iguana?, with the
head and teeth of the Stellio.

All the known species are from the East Indies ; they were con-
founded for a great length of time, but Daudin has accurately deter-
mined their specific differences"j\

SitanaJ, Cuv.

Teeth of the Agamaa, and four canini; body and limbs covered with
imbricated and carinated scales ; no pores on the thighs ; but their ribs
are not extended outwards. They are distinguished by an enormous dew-
lap which reaches to the middle of the belly, and which is twice the
height of the animal.

,S'/^ . ponticcriana, Cuv., is the only known species, and is from

* The term irah>n,Gt., draco, Lat, generally designated a large Serpent; Drago?i.i,
with a crest or beard, are spoken ofbj antient writers, a description which can only apply
to the Iguana : Lncian is the first who mentions Flying Dragons, alluding, no doubt, to
the pretended Flying Serpen f by Herodotus; St. Augustine, and other

subsequent authors, ever alter deecrihed Dragons as having wings.

f The Dragon raye; — the Drag, vert, Daud. II I, xli; — the Drag. brim.

% Sitan is the name of the species on the- (.'oast of Coromandel.

28 REPTILF8.

the East Indies. It is small, fawn-coloured, and has a series of
broad, brown, rhomboidal spots along the back.

It is perhaps to this tribe of the Agama? that we should approximate a
very extraordinary reptile, which is only to be found among the fossils of
the old Jura limestone formation ;

Pterodactylus*, Cuv.

It had a short tail, an extremely long neck, and a very large head; the
jaws armed with equal and pointed teeth ; but its chief character consisted
in the excessive elongation of the second toe of the fore-foot, which was
more than double the length of the trunk, and most probably served to
support some membrane which enabled the animal to fly, like that upheld
by the ribs of the Dragon.

The second section of the Iguanian family, that of the Iguanians
proper, is distinguished from the first by having teeth in the palate.

Iguana, Cuv.

The Iguanas, or Guanas, properly so called, have the body and tail
covered with small imbricated scales; along the entire length of the
back, they have a range of spines, or rather of recurved, compressed, and
pointed scales ; beneath the throat a pendent, compressed dewlap, the edge
of which is supported by a cartilaginous process of the hyoid bone ; a
series of porous tubercles on their thighs, as in the true Lizards; and
their head covered with plates. Each jaw is surrounded with a row of
compressed, triangular teeth, whose cutting edge is denticulate; there
are also two small rows of the same on the posterior edge of the palate.
Ig. tuberculata, Laur. ; Lac. Iguana, L. ; Seb. I, xcv, 1, xcvii,
3, xcviii, 1. (The Common American J guana-f - ). Yellowish green
above, marbled with pure green ; the tail annulated with brown ;
preserved in spirits it appears blue, changing to green and violet,
and dotted with black; paler beneath; a crest of large spiniform dorsal
scales; a large round plate under the tympanum at the angle of the
jaws; sides of the neck furnished with pyramidical scales scattered
among the others; anterior edge of the dewlap denticulate like the
back ; from four to five feet in length : common in every part of
South America, where its flesh is esteemed delicious, although un-
wholesome, particularly for those who have contracted syphilis, the
sufferings peculiar to which it revives. It lives mostly on trees, oc-
casionally visits the water, and feeds on fruit, grain, and leaves ; the
female lays in the sand eggs the size of those of a Pigeon, agreeable
to the taste, and almost without white.

Ulguane ardoise, Daud. ; Seb. I, xcv, 2, xevi, 4. (The Slate-
coloured Iguana). A uniform violet blue, paler beneath; the dorsal

* See my Oss. Foss. 2d ed. Vol. V, p. 2, pi. xxiii.

f The Mexicans call it Aquaquetzpallia, Hernand. ; the Brazilians, Scnembi,
Marcgr.

SAURIANS. 29

spines smaller; in other respects similar to the preceding. Both of
them have an oblique whitish line on the shoulder. The latter is
from the same country as the former, and is prohably a mere variety
of age or sex*.

Ig. nudieollis, Cuv. ; Mus. Besler. tab. XIII, f. 3; Ig. delicatis-
sima, Laur. (The naked Iguana), resembles the common one, parti-
cularly in its dorsal crest, but has no infra-tympanal plate, nor the
scattered tubercles on the sides of the neck. The upper part of the
cranium is furnished with arched plates ; the occiput is tuberculous ;
the dewlap is moderate, and has but few indentations, and those only
in the anterior part. Laurenti says its habitat is India, but he is
mistaken ; we have received it from the Brazils, and from Guade-
loupe"}".

Ig. cornuta, Cuv. ; Ig. comu de St. Dominigue, Lacep. Bonnat.
Encycl. Method. Erpetolog. Lezards, pi. iv, f. 4. (The Horned
Iguana). Very similar to the Common Iguana, and still more so to
the preceding species, but is distinguished by a conical osseous point
between the eyes, and by two scales raised up over the nostrils ; the
infra-tympanal plate is deficient as well as the tubercles on the neck,
but the scales on the jaws are embossed.

Ig. eyehlura, Cuv. (Tbe Carolina Iguana). Destitute, like the
two preceding species, of infra-tympanal plate or small spines on the
neck, but carinated scales, rather larger than the rest, form cinc-
tures on the tail at intervals J.

Ophryessa, Bote,

Have small imbricated scales ; a slightly salient dorsal crest, extending
on the tail, which is compressed; denticulated maxillary teeth, and teeth
in the palate : all these circumstances approximate them to the Iguana ;
but they have neither dewlap nor femoral pores.

Lac. superciliosa, L. ; Seb. I, cix, 4 ; Lophyrus xiphurus, Spix,
X, so called from a membranous carina, which forms its eye-brow,
is an American species, of a fawn-colour, with a festooned brown
band along each flank.

Basiliscus, Daad.

The Basilisks have no pores, but have palatine teeth, like the Ophry-
essa; the body is covered with small scales; on the back and tail a con-
tinuous and elevated crest supported by the spinous apophyses of the
vertebras, like that on the tail of the Istiuri.

* I have every reason to think that this same conclusion should he extended to the
Iguanas of Spix, pi. v, vi, vii, viii, and ix: they seem to me to be nothing more than
various ages of the common species.

f I suspect the Amblyrhynchus cristatus, Bell. Zool Joum. 1, Supp. p. xii, is a
badly prepared specimen of my Ig. nudieollis.

X It also appears to me that* this Iguana is the same which Dr. Harlan (Joum.
Acad. Nat. Sc. of Phil. IV, pi. xv,) calls Cychlura carinata; but in this ease there
must be some mistake, as in the Amblyrhynchus, relative to the palatine teeth.
These teeth exist in all my Iguanas.

30 REPTILES.

The species known, Lacerta basiliscus, L. ; Seb. I, c. 1 ; Daud.
Ill, xlii, (Basilisk), is recognized byjthe hood-like membranous pro-
minence of its occiput, that is supported by cartilage. It attains
a large size, is bluish, with two white bands, one behind the eye, the
other the back of the jaws, which are lost towards the shoulder*. It
is from Guiana, and feeds on grain.

Polyciirus, Cuv.

The Marbled Lizards have the teeth in the palate as in the Iguana, and
femoral pores, though the latter are not strongly marked; but the body is
covered with small scales, and is destitute of a crest. The head is co-
vered with plates ; tail long and slender ; throat very extensible, so that a
dewlap is formed at the will of the animal, which, like the Chameleon,
possesses the faculty of changing colour; the lungs, consequently, are
very voluminous, occupy nearly the whole trunk, and are divided into
several branches : the false ribs, like those of the chameleon, surround
the abdomen by uniting so as to form perfect circles.

Lae. marmorata, L.; Marbre de la Guiane, Lacep. I, xxvi; Seb.
II, lxxvi, 4; Spix, XIV. Reddish-grey, marbled with irregular
transverse bands of a brown red, sometimes mixed with blue ; the
tail very long. Common in Guiana 'p.

Ecpiiimotus, Fitzinger.

The Marbled Lizards of Guiana have the teeth and pores of a Poly-
ciirus, but small scales on the body only ; on the tail, which is very thick,
they are large, pointed, and carinate; the head is covered with plates.
Their form is somewhat short, and flattened, more like that of certain
Agamce than of a Polychrus.

The most common species, Agama tuberculoma, Spix, XV, 1, or
Tropidurus torquatus, Pr. Max. J, is ash-coloured, sprinkled with
whitish drops, and has a black semi-collar on each side of the neck.
It inhabits Brazil.

Oplurus, Cuv.

Teeth of a Polychrus, and the form of an Agama, but no pores on the
thighs, and the pointed and carinated scales of the tail ally it to that of a
Stellio; the dorsal scales also are pointed and carinate, but very small.
One species only is known.

Opl. torquatus, Cuv. (The Black -collared Grey Quetzpaleo§).
A black half- collar on each side of the neck. From Brazil.

* It is a mistake to believe, on the authority of Seba, that this species is the Basi-
lisk of the Indies.

f Add, Pol. acutirostris, Spix, XIV.

X The Tropidurus of Pr. Max. de Wied. is not, as he imagined, the Quelzpaleo of
Seha, although it is also marked with black semi-collars.

§ The name of Quetzpaleo, given by Seba to the above species, seems to be a cor-
ruption of the Mexican Aqua quetz pallia, which appears to be a name of the Iguana;
the Quetzpaleo of Lacep., Kept. 4to. II, 497, is a Uromastix; but the figure quoted
is that of Seba's animal.

SAURIAN*. 31

Anolius*, Cuv.

The Anolis, together with the whole of the forms of the Iguanas, par-
ticularly of the marbled genus, have a very peculiar distinguishing cha-
racter : the skin of their toes is spread beneath the last phalanx but two
into an oval disk, which is striated transversely on the under part ; this
disk assists them in adhering to various surfaces, to which they can also
very effectually cling, by means of their very hooked nails. Further,
they have the body and tail uniformly shagreened with small scales, and
the greater proportion of them have a dewlap or goitre under the throat,
which they can inflate and vary in colour when excited either by anger or
desire. Several of them enjoy the faculty of changing the colour of their
skin to an equal degree with the chameleon. Their ribs form entire cir-
cles like those of the Polychrus and Cameleon. Their teeth are trench-
ant and denticulate, as in Polychrus and Iguana, and they are even found
in the palate. The skin of their tail is doubled into slight folds or de-
pressions, each of which contains some circular rows of scales. This
genus appears to be peculiar to America.

The tail of some is ornamented with a crest supported by the spinous
apophyses of the vertebra?, as in Istiurus and Basiiiscus-f.

An. velifer, Cuv. (The Great-Crested Anolis). A foot long;
a crest on the tail occupying half its length, supported by from twelve
to fifteen rays ; the dewlap extends under the belly. Its colour is a
blackish ash-blue. From Jamaica and the other Antilles. We have
found berries in its stomach.

Lac. bimaculatra, Sparm. (The Little-Crested Anolis). Half
the size of the preceding; the same crest; greenish, dotted with
brown about the muzzle and on the flanks. From North America
and several of the Antilles.

An. equestris, Merr. Fawn-colour, shaded with an ashy lilac;
a white band on the shoulder; tail so fleshy that the apophyses of
its crest cannot be perceived; a foot long.

Others again have a round tail, or one that is merely a little com-
pressed. Their species are numerous, and have been partly con-
founded under the names of Roquet, Goitreux, Rouge-gorge, and
Anolis, — Lac. strumosa and bullaris, L. They inhabit the hot parts
of America and the Antilles, and change colour with astonishing fa-
cility, particularly in hot weather. When angry their dewlap be-
comes inflated and as red as a cherry. These animals are not so
large as the Grey Lizard of Europe, and feed most commonly on in-

* Anoli, AnoalU, the name of these Saurians in the Antilles; Gronovius, very gra-
tuitously, has applied it to the Ameiva. Rochefort, from whose work it was taken,
only gives a copy of the Teyuaguaqu of Marcgrave, or the Great Sauvegarde of
Guiana. Nicholson seems to assert that this name is applied to several species, and
the one he describes appears to be the An. roquet, which, in fact, was sent to the Mu-
seum from Martinique under the name of Anolis. M. M. de Jonnes has even ascer-
tained that it is the only one by which it is now known.

t They have been confounded with each other, and with some of the following
ones, under the names of Lac. principalis and bimactilata.

32 REPTILES.

sects, which they actively pursue ; it is sai J that whenever two of
them meet, a furious combat inevitably ensues.

The species of the Antilles, or the Roquet of Lacep.T, pi. xxvii,
which is more particularly the Lac. bidlaris, Gin., has a short muz-
zle speckled with brown, and salient eye-lids ; its usual colour is
greenish. Its round tail excepted, it closely resembles the Lac. bi-
rnaculata. The Anolis raye, Daud. IV, xlviii, 1, only differs from
it in a series of black lines on the flank. It seems to be identical
with the Lac. strumosa, L. Seb. II, xx, 4, and is somewhat longer
than the preceding species.

The Carolina Anolis, Iguane goitreux, Brongn. Catesb. I, lxvi,
is of a fine golden green; a black band on the temple and a long
and flattened muzzle give it a peculiar physiognomy, and render it a
very distinct species*.

It is to this family of the Iguanae with palatine teeth, that belongs an
enormous fossil reptile, known by the name of the Maestricht Animal,
and for which the new name of Mosasaurus has recently been coinedf.

* Add the Anolis a points bhnics, Daud. IV, xlviii, 2; — An. viridis, Pr. Max. lib.
VI; — An. gracilis, Id., and several other species, of which, unfortunately, I have no
figures to cite.

f See, upon this animal, my Oss. Foss. 5th vol. part 2. Amongst the fossiles,
large reptiles have been discovered in a fossil state, which it appears should be ap-
proximated to this family, but their characters are not sufficiently known to enable
us to class them with precision. Such are the Geosaurus discovered by Soemmer-
ing, the Megalosaurus (a) of M. Buckland, the Iguanodon (b) of M. Mantell, &c.
I have treated of them more at length in the volume referred to.

IgSgT (a) Megalosaurus is the name of a genus first established by Dr. Buckland,
who found various bony remains of what lie considers to be the animal of the large
dimensions, described by him under that title. Teeth, vertebras, a coracoid bone,
ribs, and a supposed pelvis, described as belonging to an animal of this genus by
Mr. Mantell, have been found in Tilgate Forest. The doubts which are entertained
by Cuvier as to the correctness of the opinions expressed by Dr. Buckland and Mr.
Mantell, concerning the existence of such an animal, are founded on the circum-
stance of these fragments having been found promiscuously intermingled witli those
of crocodiles and other oviparous reptiles. Cuvier is of opinion that this circum-
stance does not necessarily imply that the bones in question belong to animals of the
same kind as those amongst which they had been found. The Megalosaurus, ac-
cording to Dr. Buckland, was a gigantic Saurian reptile, entirely distinct from the
crocodiles, but approximated very closely to the Monitors and Iguanas.

8$gr (b) The Iguanodon is the name of a fossil animal, which has been described,
in its complete state, by Mr. Mantell, from the evidences afforded by the materials
of its osseous structure, which were found in the Tilgate Forest strata. Some of the
teeth of this animal were first discovered in the year 1822, by Mrs. Mantell, a lady
who forms, with two or three others of her sex, in this country, a small but highly
distinguished group of laborious and successful female geologists, whose assistance
in promoting science has become a subject of just pride to every Englishman. Sub-
sequently, a series of these teeth was found, shewing every gradation of form, from
the most perfect state of the tooth in the young animal, to the last stage in which it
appears — a bony stump worn away by long employment in mastication. The struc-
ture of these teeth was so very remarkable, that Mr. Mantell was induced to send
them to Paris, by the hands of Mr. Lyall, for the purpose of having them submitted
to Cuvier' s inspection. In the private communication made by that illustrious natu-
ralist, after lie had examined them, to Mr. Mantell, he acknowledged that he was al-
together unacquainted with the teeth; that they could not have belonged to a carnl-

SAURIANS. 3o

FAMILY IV.

THE GECKOS.

This family is composed of nocturnal lizards, which are so similar that
they may be left in one genus.

Gecko*, Daud, — Ascalobotes, Cuv. — Stellio, Schn.

The Geckos are Saurians which do not possess the elongated graceful
form of those of which we have hitherto spoken, but, on the contrary, are
flattened, the head particularly, and have their feet moderate, and the toes
almost equal ; their gait is a heavy kind of crawling ; their very large eyes,
the pupil of which contracts at the approach of light, like that of a cat,
render them nocturnal animals, which secrete themselves during the day
in dark places. Their very short eyelids are completely withdrawn be-
tween the eye and the orbit, which gives them a different aspect from
other Saurians. Their tongue is fleshy and non-extensible; their tym-

* Gecko, a name given to a species in India, in imitation of its cry, just as another
one is termed Tockaie at Siam, and a third Gsitje, at the Cape; atkalagotes, the Greek
name of the Geckotte, Lacep.

vorous animal, but, from the small degree of complication about them, the dentations
of their edges, and the thin laminae of enamel which invested them, he concluded that
they belonged to reptiles. From their external appearance, Cuvier would have taken
them for the teeth of fishes, analogous to the Tetrodons, or Diodons; but the inter-
nal structure was altogether different. " Have we not in these teeth," writes Cuvier,
"an herbivorous reptile; and, as now we find the species of largest dimensions
amongst the herbivorous tribes of the land mammalia, may it not have been also the
case, that, amongst the reptiles of former times, the largest were also sustained upon ve-
getable food ? A portion of the large bones in your possession belongs to this animal,
which is, up to the present time, the only species of its genus. Time alone will con-
firm or contradict this suggestion; for, it is not impossible, that a portion of the ske-
leton, joined to pieces of the jaws, may be found with teeth. If you could obtain
only a very small portion of the jaw with adherent teeth, I think you would be able
to resolve the problem." Mr. Mantell's account of the Iguanodon represents it to
have been a horned animal of very large size. "The gigantic Megalosaurus, and
yet more gigantic Iguanodon," observes Mr. Mantell, " to whom the groves of palms
and arborescent ferns would be mere beds of reeds, must have been of such prodi-
gious magnitude, that the existing animal creation presents us with no fit objects of
comparison. Imagine an animal of the lizard tribe, three or four times as large as
the largest crocodile; having jaws, with teeth equal in size to the incisors of the rhi-
noceros; and crested with horn: such a creature must have been the Iguanodon!"

The enormous size of the animal is thus given from a scientific calculation by Mr.
Mantell: —

" Length of the animal, from the snout to the tip of the tail . . 70 feet,

head ......... 4£ feet.

body 13 feet.

tail 52| feet.

Height from the ground to the top of the head . . . . .9 feet.

Circumference of the body ........ I-l| feet

Length of the thigh and leg 8 ft. 2 in.

Circumference of the thigh 7 \ feet.

Length of the hind foot, from the heel to the point of the long toe . 6$ feet."

VOL. II. D

34 REPTILES.

panum somewhat sunk ; their jaws every where furnished with a range of
very small closely-joined teeth; their palate without teeth; their skin,
which is studded above with very small granular scales, among which are
often found larger tubercles, has beneath scales somewhat smaller, which
are flat and imbricated. Some species have the femoral pores. There
are circular plaits on the tail as on that of an Anolis, but, when broken,
it grows without these folds, and even without tubercles where these might
be natural to them — circumstances which have led to an undue multipli-
cation of species.

This genus is numerous and disseminated throughout the warm portions
of both continents. The melancholy and heavy air of the Gecko, and a
certain resemblance it bears to the Salamander and the Toad, have ren-
dered it the object of hatred, and caused it to be considered as venomous,
but of this there is no real proof.

The toes of most of them are widened along the whole or part of their
length, and furnished beneath with regular plaits of skin, which enable
them to adhere so closely, that they are sometimes seen crawling along
ceilings. Their nails are variously retractile, and preserve their point
and edge, which, conjointly with their eyes, authorize us to say, that the
Gecko, as compared to other Saurians, is what the Cats are to the Carni-
vorous Mammalia; but these nails vary, according to the species, and in
some are entirely wanting.

The first and most numerous division of the Geckos, which I will call
the

PLATYDACTYLI.

The Platydactyles have the toes widened throughout their whole length,
and covered beneath with transverse scales.

Some of these Platydactyle Geckos have no vestige of a nail, and their
thumbs are very small. They are beautiful species, completely covered
with tubercles, and painted with the most lively colours. Those known
are from the Isle of France.

In some the femoral pores are deficient*.

One of them, G. inunguis, Cuv., is violet above, white beneath,
with a black line on the flank. Another, G. ocellatus, Oppel., is
grey, completely covered with ocellated brown spots with a white
centre.

In some again these pores are very strongly marked f. Such is
the Gecho cepedien, Peron, of the Isle of France ; pale yellow, mar-
bled with blue ; a white line along each flank.

I am not sure, however, that the pores in this first subgenus are
not indications of the sex of the animals.
Other Platydactyli have no nail to their thumb, or to the second and
fifth toes of all the feet; the femoral pores are also deficient J.

* M. Gray appropriates the name of Platydactylus to this division.

•j- It is from this division that M. Gray has made his genus Phehuma; the Laccrta
gietje of Sparm. should belong to it. They are considered very venomous at the
Cape.

+ This division forms the genus Tarentola of Gray.

SAURIANS. 35

Such is,

Gecko fascicularis, Daud. , Lacert. facetanvs, Aldrov. 654, Tarente
of Provence ; Tarentola, or rather Terrentola of the Italians ; Stellio
of the ancient Latins; Geckotte, Lacep. ; (The Wall Gecko); of a
dark grey ; rough head ; the whole upper surface of the body studded
with tubercles, each of which consists of three or four smaller ones ;
the scales on the under part of the tail similar to those on the belly.
It is a hideous animal, which hides in holes of walls, heaps of stones,
&c, covering its body with dust and filth. The same species ap-
pears to exist every where about the Mediterranean, and in Provence
and Languedoc.

There is a neighbouring species in Egypt and in Barbary, with

simple round tubercles, which are more salient on the flanks, — G.

cegyptiacus, Nob. Egypt. Rept., pi. v, f. 7*.

The nails are only deficient in the four thumbs of the greater number

of the platydactyle Geckos. They have a range of pores before the anus-j".

Such are,

Gecko, Lacep. I, xxix; Stellio Gecko, Schneid. ; Le Gecko a
(jouttelettes, Daud. ; Seb. cviii, the whole plate. Rounded, slightly
salient tubercles over the upper surface of the body, whose red ground
is sprinkled with round white spots; tail furnished beneath with
square and imbricated scales. Seba says it is from Ceylon, and pre-
tends that it is to this identical species that the name of Gecko is
applied in imitation of its cry; but long before him it was attributed
by Bontius to a species of Java. It is probable that the cry and the
name are common to several species. We have ascertained that this
one is found throughout the Archipelago of India.

Lac. vittata, Gm. ; Le Gecko a bandes; Lezard de Pandang, at
Amboine; Daud. IV, 1. Brown; a white band on the back, which
bifurcates on the head and on the root of the tail; tail annulated with
white. From the East Indies; found at Amboine on the branches
of the shrub called the short Pandang J.

There are some of these four-nailed Platydactyli whose body is edged
with a horizontal membrane, and which have palmated feet. One of the
most remarkable is

Lac.homalocephala, Crevelt., Soc. of Nat. of Berlin, 1809, pl.viii;
the sides of whose head and body are augmented by a broad mem-
brane, which is scalloped into festoons on the sides of the tail. Its
feet are palmated. Found in Java and Bengal §.

There is another species in India with a bordered head and body,
and palmated feet, but in which the festoons on the tail, and the pores
near the anus, are deficient, — Pteropeeura, Horsfieldii, Gray,
Zool. Jour. No. X, p. 222.

Finally, some Platydactyli have no nails to all their toes.

* This fig., in titled Far. dit Gecko annulaire, has too many nails.
f This division is the Gecko proper of M. Gray.

X N. B. Daudin erroneously gives nails to the thumbs of these two Geckos.
§ This bordered Platydactylus forms the genus Ptychozoon of Fitzinger. M. Gray
also separates his Pterotleura from them on account of the absence of the pores.

d2

36 REPTILES.

There is a smooth species with palmated feet in France, — A.
Leachianus, Cuv.

A second subdivision of the Geckos, which I call the

Hemidactyli.

The Hemidactyles have the base of the toes furnished with an oval disk
formed beneath by a double row of scales, en chevron : from the middle
of this disk rises the second phalanx, which is slender, and has the third
or the nail at its extremity. The species known have five nails, and a
series of pores on each side of the anus. The sub-caudal scales form
broad bands like those on the belly of serpents.

There is one species in the south of Europe, G. vermculatus,
Cuv., of a reddish-grey ; the back covered with little conical tuber-
cles, somewhat rounded; circles of similar tubercles round the tail;
found in Italy, Sicily, and Provence, like the G. fascicularis.

A very similar species, G. mabuia, Cuv., with still smaller tuber-
cles, those of the tail more pointed; grey, clouded with brown;
brown rings on the tail, abounds throughout the hot portions of Ame-
rica, where it enters the houses. It is known in the French colonies
by the name of Mabouia des murailles*.

There are others at Pondicherry and Bengal so very similar, that
we are almost induced to believe that they have been carried there in
vessels -j\

A Hemidactylus with a bordered body, G. marcjinatus, Cuv., is
also found in India; its feet are not palmated; the tail is horizontally
flattened, and its edges are trenchant and somewhat fringed. It was
sent from Bengal by M. Duvaucel.

The third division of the Geckos, which I shall call

Thecadactyli.

The Thecadactyles have the toes widened throughout their length, and
furnished beneath with transverse scales ; but these scales are divided by
a deep longitudinal furrow, in which the nail can be completely concealed.
In the species known to me the nails are deficient on the thumbs only ;
the femoral pores are wanting, and their tail is covered above and beneath
with small scales.

G. laevis, D. ; Stellio pcrfoliatus, Schn. ; Lac. rapicauda, Gm. ;
Le Gecko lissc, Daud. IV, li, (The Smooth Gecko), known in the
French colonies as the Mabouia des bananiers. Grey, marbled with
brown ; finely granulated, but without tubercles above ; small scales
beneath ; its naturally long tail, which is encircled with plaits as usual,

* So far as we can judge from the figure, the Thecadacti/lus policaris and the Gecko
acuteatus, Spix, XVIII, 2 and 3, seem to be different ages of this Mabouia des mu-
railles. M. M. de Jonnes has given a monograph of them, but he confounds it with
different species.

f To this division also belong the G. a lubercules triedres and the G. a queue epi-
neuse of Daud. ; the first is identical with the Stell. maurilankus of Schn. The Stell.
platyurus, Schn., is also closely allied to it.

SAURIANS. 37

Is easily broken, and the new one that succeeds is sometimes consi-
derably enlarged, resembling in its figure a small radish. It is from
these accidental monstrosities that it has received the name of G.
rapicauda *.

The fourth division of the Geckos, or

Ptyodactyli-J-.

Ptyodactyles have the ends of the toes only dilated into plates, the un-
der surface of which is striated so as to resemble a fan. The middle of
the plate is split, and the nail placed in the fissure. Each toe has a strongly
hooked nail.

The toes of some are free, and their tail round.

Lac. gecko, Hasselq. ; Gecko hbatus, Geoff. Rept. Egyp. Ill, 5 ;
Stellio Hasselquistii, Sclm. (The House Gecko); smooth; reddish-
grey, dotted with brown; the scales and tubercles very small; com-
mon in houses on the south and east of the Mediterranean. At
Cairo it is called Abou burs (the father of the leprosy), because they
say that it does mischief by poisoning with its feet the food, but parti-
cularly the corned provisions, to which it is exceedingly partial. In
passing over the skin it occasions a redness, but this is perhaps
solely owing to the fineness of its nails. Its cry somewhat resem-
bles that of a frog.

In others, each side of the tail is edged with a membrane, and the feet
are semi-palmate ; they are probably aquatic, and are the Uiioplates of
Dumeril.

Stellio jh ib rutins, Sclm.; Le Gecko f range; Tete plate, Lac, or
Famo-Cantraca of Madagascar, Brug. ; Lacep. I, xxx; Daud. IV,
lii. The membrane on the sides of the tail extending along the
flanks, where it is slashed and fringed. Found in Madagascar upon
trees, where it leaps from -branch to branch. The natives, though
without any reason, hold it in great fear \.

Lac. caudiverbera, L. ; Gecko du Perou, Feuillee, I, 319. No
fringe on the sides of the body, it being confined to those of the tail,
on which there is also a vertical membranous crest. Feuillee found
it in a spring in the Cordilleras. It is blackish, and more than a
foot long.

We may make a fifth division, — the

Spheriodactyli

Are certain small Geckos, the ends of whose toes terminate in a little pellet
without folds, but always with retractile nails.

When this pellet is double or emarginated in front, they are closely

* The G. scjualidus, Herm., if not the same as the Icevis, belongs to this division.
The Gecko de Surinam, Daud., is only a younger and better-coloured specimen of
the l<zvis.

f From the Greek word ptuon, fan.

X According to Brugiere's description, : !i< Sarroube of \A laga i has all the
ters of the Famo-cantraca, except the fringe and a deficiency of the thumb in
the fore feet. M. Fitzinger has taken it for his genus S \kki r- ■>

38 REPTILES.

allied to the simple Ptyodactyli. The species known are from the Cape
or from India: such is the

Gc porphyre, Daud. Reddish-grey, marbled and dotted with
brown*.
Most generally the pellet is simple and round. The species are all
American : such is the

G. sputateur a bandes, Lacep. Rept. I, pi. xxviii, f. 1. A small

species, prettily marked with transverse brown bands laid on a red

ground: common in the houses of St. Domingo, where it is also called

the Mabouia. There is a neighbouring species in the same island,

but which is of a uniform ash-colour, Id. lb. f. 2.

Finally, there are some Saurians which, possessing all the characters

of Geckos, have no enlargement of the toes. Their five nails, however,

are retractile.

Some of them have a round tail, and the toes striate beneath and in-
dented along the sides, constituting the

Stenodactyli.

There is one in Egypt, Sten. guttatus, Egyp. Rept. pi. V. f. 2 f.
Smooth, grey, sprinkled with whitish spots.
Others have naked and slender toes : those which have a round tail
form the

Gymnodactyli of Spix.

Some of these are found in America, with regular suites of small tu-
bercles. The Gymnodactylus geckoides, Spix, X, viii, 1, also appears to
be one of them.

Others again having their tail flattened horizontally, so as to resemble
the shape of a leaf, I have given the name of

Phyllurus.
Only one species is yet known, and that is from New Holland,
Stellio phyllurus, Schn. ; Lacerta plaiura, White, New South Wales,
p. 24G, f. 2 \. Grey, marbled with brown above; completely covered
with small pointed tubercles.
We are compelled to establish a fifth Family,

FAMILY V.

CHAM^LEONIANS,

For the single genus,

Cham^leo §.
Or the Chameleons, which is very distinct from all other Saurian genera,
and is not even easily introduced into their series.

* Daudin was mistaken in considering this Gecko as an American species, and
synonymous with mabouia.

f Under the improper name of Agame ponclue. It is reproduced in the Supp.
pi. 1, f. 2; and a neighbouring species, f. 4.

J Referred, for some unknown reason, by Daudin to Stellio.

§ From Chamaileon, (Little Lion), the Grecian name of this animal. Aristotle,
who uses it, has also given a perfect description of it. Hist. Ann. Lib. II, cap. xi.

SAURIANS. 39

Their skin is roughened by scaly granules, their body compressed, and
the back — if we may so express it — trenchant; tail round and prehensile;
five toes to each foot, but divided into two bundles, one containing two,
the other three, each bundle being united by the skin down to the nails;
the tongue fleshy, cylindrical, and extremely extensible ; teeth trilobate ;
eyes large, but nearly covered by the skin, except a small hole opposite
to the pupil, and possessing the faculty of moving independently of each
other; no visible external ear, and the occiput pyramidically elevated.
Their first ribs are joined to the sternum; the following ones are ex-
tended each to its fellow on the opposite side, so as to enclose the ab-
domen by an entire circle. Their lungs are so enormous, that when
inflated, their body seems to be transparent, a circumstance which induced
the antients to believe that they fed on air. They live on insects, which
they capture with the viscid extremity of their tongue ; this is the only
part of their body which has rapidity of motion, as in every thing else
they are remarkable for their excessive slowness. The dimensions of
their lungs probably is the source of the property of changing colour,
which takes place, not, as is thought, in conformity with the hue of ihe
bodies on which they rest, but according to their wants and passions.
Their lungs, in fact, render them more or less transparent, compel the
blood in a greater or less degree to return to the skin, and even colour
that fluid more or less vividly in proportion to the quantity of air they
contain. They always remain on trees.

Lac. africana, Gm. ; Cameleon ordinaire, Lacep. I, xxii; Seb. I,
lxxxii, 1, lxxxiii, 4*. (The Common Chameleon). The hood
pointed and relieved by a ridge in front; the granules on the skin
equal and close ; the superior crest indented as far as half the length
of the back, the inferior to the anus. The hood of the female does
not project so much, and the denticulations of her crests are smaller.
From Egypt, Barbary, and even the south of Spain, and India.

Cham, tigris, Cuv. (The Tiger Chameleon). Another similar
species from the Sechelle Islands, with a hood resembling that on
the female of the preceding; the granules on the skin minute and
equal; it is distinguished by a denticulated and compressed ap-
pendage under the extremity of its lower jaw. The body is
sprinkled with black points.

Cham, verrucosus, Cuv. (The Warty Chameleon). A third
neighbouring species from the island of Bourbon, marked by gra-
nules larger than the others which are scattered among them, and
by a series of warts, parallel to the back at about two-thirds of its
height. The hood is like that on the female of the common one ;
the notches on the back are deeper, those on the belly more shal-
low.

Cham, pumilus, Daud. IV, liii ; Lacerta pumila, Gm. ; Cham,
margaritaceus, Merr. ; Seb. lxxxii, 4, 5. (The Dwarf Chameleon).
The hood directed backwards ; warts scattered on the flanks, limbs

* The Cam. trapu, Egyp. Rept. IV, 3; Ch. carinalus, Merr.; Ch. subcfoeeus, Id.?

40 REPTILES.

and tail; numerous, compressed, finely notched appendages (lam-
beaux) under the throat, which vary in each individual. Found at
the Cape, Isle of France, and the Sechelles*.

Ch. planiceps, Merr. Seb. I, lxxxiii, 2 ; Lacerta chamcelion, Gm.
(The Chameleon of Senegal). The hood flattened, and almost des-
titute of a ridge ; its figure is a horizontal parabola. Found in Se-
negal, Barhary, and even in Georgia.

Ch. pardalis, Cuv. The hood flat like that of the Senegal spe-
cies ; but there is a little prominent edge to its muzzle, in front of
the mouth; larger granules scattered among the smaller ones, and
the body irregularly marked with round black spots, edged with
white. From the Isle of France.

Ch. Parsonii, Cuv. Phil. Trans. LVIII. Another species, with
a flat hood, which is slightly truncated behind; crest of the eye-
brow prolonged and turned up, on each side of the end of the muzzle,
into an almost vertical lobe. The granules are equal, and there is
no emargination either above or beneath -f. Finally, the

Ch. bif ureas, Brongn. ; Cameleon des Moluques a nez fourchu,
Daud. IV, liv, has a semicircular flat hood; two large compressed,
salient prominences in front of the muzzle, which varies. in length;
probably a sexual difference. The granules are equal, the body is
sprinkled with closely set blue spots, and at the bottom of each flank
is a double series of white ones.

The Sixth and last Family of the Saurians is,

FAMILY VI.

SCINCOIDEA.

Known by their short feet, non-extensible tongue, and the equal scales
which cover the body and tail, like tiles.

Scincus, Daud.

The Seines have four short feet; the body and tail almost one con-
tinued and uniform piece; no enlargement, of the occiput; without crest
or dewlap, and covered with uniform, shining scales, arranged like tiles,
or those of a Carp. Some of them are fusiform ; others, more or less
elongated, resemble Serpents, the Angiitis particularly, to which they are
related by several internal affinities, and which they connect with the
family of the Iguanida, by an uninterrupted series of transitions. Their
tongue is fleshy, but slightly extensible and emarginate ; the jaws every
where furnished with small, closely set teeth. In the anus, eye, ear, &c,
they bear a greater or less resemblance to the Iguana? and Lizards ; the
feet are furnished with free and unguiculated toes.

* I believe the Chaw, seiehellensii of Kuhl to be a female of the pumilus.
j I do not know the Cham, dilcpis, Leach, or bilvbus, Kuhl.

SAURIANS. 41

Certain species have palatine teeth, and an emargination on the anterior
edge of the tympanum.

Among this number, on account of its trenchant and somewhat
raised muzzle*, we should distinguish the

Seine, officinalis, Schn.; Lac. scincus, Lin.; El Adda of the
Arabs; Le scinque des pharmacies, Lacep. I, xxiii; Bruce, Abyss,
pi. 39; Egypt. Rep. Suppl. pi. 2, f. 8. (The Officinal Seine). Six
or eight inches long; the tail shorter than the body ; the latter of a
silvery yellow ; transverse blackish bands ; inhabits Nubia, Abys-
sinia, and Arabia, whence it is sent to Alexandria, and from thence
distributed throughout Europe. It possesses a surprising facility of
burying itself in the sand when pursued -j\ Among .those which
have blunt muzzles we may observe a species diffused throughout
India; the Sc. rvfescens, which is greenish, with a yellowish line
along the flanks; each scale has three small raised ridges. There
is one from the south of Africa, very common in the vicinity of the
Cape — the Sc. trivittatus ; brown ; three paler lines along the back
and tail; black spots between the lines J.

We should especially notice the great Levant species, Sc. eyprius,
Cuv., Lac. eyprius sincoides, Aldrov. Quadr. Dig. 666; Geoff. Desc.
de l'Egypt, Rept. pi. iii, f. 3, under the name of Anolis gigantesque,
which is greenish, with smooth scales; the tail longer than the body,
and a pale line along each flank.

In other Seines, the Tiliqua of Gray, the palatine teeth are wanting.
There is one of these very common in the south of Europe, Sar-
dinia, Sicily, and Egypt; Sc. variegatus, Sc. ocellatus, Schn. ; Daud.
IV, lvi; Geoff. Eg. Rept. pi. v, f. 1, under the name of Anolis
marbre; and better, Savigny, lb., Supp. pi. ii, f. 7, which has small,
round black spots, each marked with a white streak on the back,
flanks, and tail. There is most commonly a pale line along each
side of the back.

* This species alone composes the genus Scincus of Fitzinger, the others con-
stitute his genus Mabouia.

f The Greeks and Latins called the Terrestrial Crocodile, Scincus; it was conse-
quently a Monitor to which they attributed so many virtues; but since the middle
ages, the above species is usually sold under this name, and for the same purposes.
Eastern nations, in particular, consider it as a powerful aphrodisiac.

X Add, Sc. erythrocephalus, Gilliams, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. I, xviii, (or the Scorpion
Lizard, Penn.);— Sc. bicolor, Harlan, lb. IV, xviii, 1; — Sc. multiseriatus, Nob.;
Geoff. Eg. Rep. IV, f. 4, under the name of Anolis pave.—'We also think it proper
to refer to this subdivision, although we have not been able to procure the animal,
the great Scincus, called in Jamaica the Galley Wasp; Sloane, II, pi. 273, f. 9,
(Lac. occidua, Sh.) (a).

IggT (a) Messrs. Peale and Green in the 6th vol. of the " Journal of the Academy
of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia," describe a new species, which they call S.
uentralis. It is fifteen inches long, with a long tail, the body being above olivaceous
with some black spots, and white beneath; scales on the back carinated and imbri-
cate; folds spotted on each side of the body. These gentlemen propose to make
this species the foundation of a genus to be called Pterogasterus. It is a native
of Mexico, where it is known as an extremely venomous creature under the name
of Escorpiou. — Enc;. En.

42 reptiles;

The French Antilles produce several species, one of which is im-
properly called there the Anolis de terre, and Mabouia; Lacep.
pi. xxiv; it is smooth; of a greenish brown, and has blackish points
scattered along the back; a brown band imperfectly terminated,
reaching from the temple over the shoulder, and beyond it*.

The Moluccas and New Holland produce some species of this
division, which are remarkable for their thickness -j\

SepsJ, Daud.

The Seps only differ from the Seines in their more elongated body,
which is exactly similar to that of an Anguis, and in the still smaller feet,
the two pairs of which are further apart. Their lungs begin to exhibit
some inequality.

There is one species, S. scincoides, Cuv., with five toes, of which
the posterior are unequal.

One with five nearly equal and short toes, Anguis quadrupes, L. ;
Lacerta serpens, Gm. ; Bloch, Soc. of Nat. of Berl. vol. II, pi. 2 §.
From the East Indies.

One with four toes, the posterior of which are unequal; {Tetra-
dactylus deeresiensis, Per. I| ; and one with three, very similar other-
wise to the preceding, the Tridactylus deeresiensis, Per. Both are
from the island of Cres, and are viviparous.

A fifth, with three short toes, and very small feet, called in Italy,
Cecelia or Cicigna, — Lac. chalcides, L., is grey, with four longi-
tudinal brown stripes, two on each side of the back. It is viviparous
also, and moves with rapidity without the aid of its feet; lives in
meadows, and feeds on spiders, small snails, &c.**

The southern provinces of France produce a sixth, very similar to
the preceding, but with eight or nine brown stripes placed at equal
distances apart, — Zygnis striata, Fitz.

We might separate from the rest a species whose carinated and

* The fig. of Lacep. is exact, the tail excepted, which is too short, it having been
broken in the original, an accident which frequently occurs to all Lizards. — Add
the Sc. dflancs noirs, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. de Freyc, pi. 42;— Sc. bistriatus, Spix,
XXVI, 1.

f Lac. scincoides, White, 242; — Sc. nigroluteus, Quoy et Gaym. Freyc. 41; — Sc.
crotaphomelas, Per. and Lacep., &c. N.B. I have given but few species of Scincus,
because they are so badly characterized by authors, that it is almost impossible to
indicate their synonymes with any certainty. There is no genus which stands more
in need of a monograph than this.

X Seps and Chalcis were the antient names of an animal which some consider as a
Lizard, and others a Serpent. It is very probable that they designated the three-
toed Seps of Greece and Italy. Seps is derived from the Greek sepein, (to corrupt).

§ It forms the genus Lygosoxia of Gray; Fitzinger leaves it among his Mabuia,
or Seines without palatine teeth.

|| It is to this species that Fitzinger approjniates the generic name of Sets — he
calls it Seps Peronii.

** Merrem, on the contrary, had made his genus Sm>s from this single species.
Fitzinger now calls it Zyunis, in imitation of Oken, and adds to it the Tridactylus
deeresiensis, from the island of ("res, of Per., which is much more nearly allied to
the Tetradactylus of the same island.

SAURIANS. 1J

pointed scales are nearly verticillate*; Lac. anguina, L. ; Lac. mo-
nodactyla, Lacep. Ann. Mus. II, lix, 2, and Vosmaer, Monog. 1774,
f. 1, under the name of Serpent- Lizard. Its feet are merely small
undivided spurs. Inhabits the environs of the Cape of Good Hope.

Bipes, Lacep.

The Bipeds are a small genus, only differing from Seps in the entire
absence of fore feet, having the scapulse and clavicles concealed beneath
the skin, the hind feet alone being visible. There is only a step from it
to Unguis.

Some of them have a series of pores before the anus j.

I dissected one of them brought from New Holland by the late.
M. Peron, the Bipede lepidopode, Lacep. Ann. du Mus. torn. IV,
pi. lv, which has carinated scales on the back, and a tail twice the
length of the body J. Of its feet, nothing is externally visible but
two small oblong and scaly plates; but by dissection we find a
femur, a tibia, a fibula, and four metatarsal bones forming toes, but
without phalanges. One of its lungs is half the size of the other.
It lives in the mud.

This series of pores is wanting in others.

A small species, described a long time ago, is found at the Cape,
Unguis bipes, L. ; Lacerta bipes, Gm. ; Seb. I, lxxxvi, 3, each of
whose feet is terminated by two unequal toes§.

Brazil produces another, Pygopus cariococca, Spix, xxviii, 2;
larger, with undivided feet like those of the lepidopode, Lacep., but
more pointed, and with entirely smooth scales. It is greenish, with
four longitudinal blackish lines ||.

Chalcides, Daud.

The Chalcides are elongated Lizards, like Seps, resembling Serpents ;
but the scales, instead of being arranged like tiles, are rectangular, form-
ing transverse bands, which do not encroach on each other like those on
the tails of ordinary lizards.

Some of them have a furrow on each side of the trunk, and a still very
apparent tympanum. They are allied to Cordylus just as Seps is con-
nected with Scincus, and lead in many points to Pseudopus and Ophi-
saurus.

A five-toed species is known, Lac. seps, L., which inhabits the

* It is the genus Monodactylus, Merr., or Cham^esaura, Fitz.

f They form the genus Pygopus of Merrem.

X The fig. of Lacep. is drawn from an individual, the tail of which had been
broken off' and reproduced; we are very liable, generally speaking, to be mistaken in
the proportionate length of the tail in all this class.

§ It is the genus Bipes, Merr., or Scelotes, Fitz. The Seps gronovien, or mono-
dactyle of Daudin, of which Merrem has made his genus Pygodactylus, was
merely a badly preserved specimen of the same, so that this genus must be stricken
out, as Merrem suspected would be the case. The Seps sexlineata, Ilarl., &c. Nat.
Sc. Phil. IV, pi. xviii, f. 2, is a mere variety of it.

|| The Pyg. slriatus, Spix, XXVIII, 1, appears to me to be the young of the
same species.

44 REPTILES.

East Indies. Another with four toes, Lac. tetradactyla, Lacep.
Ann. du Mus. II, lix, 2*. In others the tympanum is concealed,
leading directly to Chirotes, and thence to the Amphisbsenjfi. There
is one species with five toesf; and a second in Brazil with four an-
terior and five posterior, the Hetrodactylus imbricatus, Spix, xxvii, 1 ;
a third with four to each foot J; a fifth, whose toes, to the number of
five before and three behind, are reduced to such small tubercles,
that it has at one time been considered as having three, and at ano-
ther but one§. From Guiana.

Chirotes, Cuv.

The Bimana resemble the Chalcides in their verticillate scales, and still
more so the Amphisbamas in the obtuse form of their head ; but are dis-
tinguished from the first by the absence of hind feet, and from the second
by the presence of the anterior feet. One species only is known.

Chamcesaura pro-pus, Schn. ; Lac. lumbrico'ides, Shaw; Bipede
cannele, Lacep. I, xli, has two short feet, each having four toes,
with a rudiment of a fifth, completely organized interiorly, attached
by scapulas, clavicles, and a small sternum; but the head, vertebras,
and in fact the whole remainder of the skeleton, resembling that of
the Amphisbasnae. It is from eight to ten inches long, and about
the thickness of the little finger; flesh coloured; the back invested
by about two hundred and twenty half rings; there are as many on
the belly, which meet alternately on the side. It is found in Mexico,
where it feeds on insects. Its slightly extensible tongue terminates
in two small horny points; eye very small; tympanum covered by
the skin, and invisible externally; two series of pores before the
anus. I found in them but one large lung, and a vestige of a smaller
one as in most, Serpents ||.

* It is the genus Tetradactylus of Merr., or Saurophis of Fitzinger.

f This species forms the genus Chalcides of Fitzinger.

X The genus Brachypus, Fitz.

§ In the first case it is the Chalcide, Lacep., pi. xxxii, the Chamcesaura cophias,
Schn., the genus Chalcis, Merr., and the genus Cophias, Fitz.; in the second it
is the Chalcide monodactyle, Daud., or the genus Colobus, Merr.; but all these
genera are reducible to one single species.

|| The genera which terminate this order of Saurians interpose themselves in so
many various ways between the ordinary Saurians and the genera placed at the head
of the Ophidians, that several naturalists now think it improper to separate the two
orders; or they establish a single genus, comprising, on the one hand, the Saurians,
with the exception of the Crocodiles, — and the Ophidians of the Anguis family on
the other. But among the fossils of the antient calcareous formations, we find two
much more extraordinary genera, which, to the head and trunk of a Saurian, add feet
attached to short limbs, and formed of a multitude of little articulations collected
into a species of oar or fin, similar to the fins or fore feet of the Cetacea.

One of these genera, Icthyosaurus (a), had a thick head attached to a short
neck, enormous eyes, moderate tail, an elongated muzzle armed with conical teeth
fastened in a groove. Different species, some of them very large, have been dis-
interred in England, France, and Germany.

The other, Plesiosaurus («), had a small head attached to a long serpentlike

IgSg^ (a) Mr. Mantcll informs us, that vertebra?, teeth, and other bones of the
Plesiosaurus have been found in the strata of Tilgate Forest. To M.r. Conybeare

SERPENTS. 45

ORDER III.

OPHIDIA*.— SERPENTS.

The Serpents are Reptiles without feet, and consequently those among
them all which most deserve the title of Reptiles. Their extremely
elongated body moves by means of the folds it forms when in contact with
the ground. They are divided into three families.

FAMILY I.

ANGUINAf.

The Angues still have an osseous head, teeth, and tongue, similar to
those of a Seps; their eye is furnished with three lids, &c, and, in fact,

neck, composed of a greater number of cervical vertebrae than is found in any other
animal known; its tail was short; some of its remains have also been found on the
continent.

These two genera, for the possession of which we are chiefly indebted to the exer-
tions of M. Home, Conybeare, Buckland, &c, inhabited the sea. They form a very
distinct family, but what is known of their osteology approximates them much more
closely to the common Saurians than to the Crocodiles, with which Fitzinger has
associated them in his family of the Loricata; and so much the more gratuitously,
as neither their scales nor their tongue, the two characteristic parts of the Loricata,
are known.

* From the Greek word ophis, (a serpent).

f Anguis, the Latin generic term for Serpents.

and the other gentlemen whose names are mentioned above, we are indebted for the
descriptions of the two genera of fossil animals alluded to in the note — the Plesio~
saurus and I ctlnjo saurus. They are supposed to have been oviparous, and to belong
to the family of the Saurians, but differing very essentially from all existing species,
and in such particulars as evidently must have fitted them to live entirely in the sea.
Their vertebrae are deeply cupped like those of fishes, and are as thin as those of the
shark, so as to admit of a vibratory motion of the tail, to assist progression. The
extremities terminate in four paddles, composed of a series of flat polygonal bones,
greatly exceeding in number even the phalangic cartilages of the fins of fishes. The
most wonderful animal of this division is the Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus, or long-
necked Plesiosaurus; the neck of this animal is equal to half the entire length of the
body and tail united, and is composed of thirty-five vertebrae; the back of twenty-
seven, and the tail of twenty-eight; making a total of ninety. The head is so small,
that its length is not more than a fifth part of that of the neck.

In the summer of 1832, Mr. Mantell made a discovery in a quarry of the Tilgatc
grit of fragments of bones, which he has used'as the foundation of a new Saurian
genus, called by him Hylceosaurus, from the Greek words, ule, (wood, weald, or
forest), and Saurus, (Lizard). He calls it also the Wealden Lizard, or Fossil Lizard
of Tilgate, and gives an elaborate and highly interesting description of its anatomical
details, in his beautiful work " The Geology of the South- Fast of England." In
this work he notices also another new herbivorous reptile, discovered by Dr. Jaeger
of Stuttgard, in what is called the Keuper formation of Germany, near Wirtemburg. —
Eng. Ed.

46 REPTILES".

if we may so express it, they are Seps without feet; they are all com-
prised in the genus

Anguis, Lin.

The Blind Worms, which are characterized externally by imbricated scales,
with which they are completely enveloped. They have been separated
into four subgenera; in the three first we still find beneath the skin the
bones of the shoulder and pelvis.

Pseudopus, Merr.

Have the tympanum visible externally, and on each side of the anus a
small prominence* which contains a little bone analogous to the femur,
connected with a true pelvis concealed under the skin. As to the anterior
extremity it hardly shows itself externally, its only mark being a fold not
easily detected; it has no internal humerus. One of its lungs is a fourth
less than the other. The scales are square, thick, and semi-imbricate,
some of which, between those on the back and those on the belly, being
smaller, occasion a longitudinal furrow on each side.

Pallas has described a species of the south of Russia, which is

also found in Hungary, and in Dalmatia; the P. Pallasii, Nob.;

Lacerta apoda, Pall. Nov. Com. Petrop. XIX, pi. ix, f. 1 ; from

twelve inches to two feet in length ; scales on the back smooth ;

those on the tail carinated.

M. Durville has discovered another in the Archipelago, Ps. Dur-

villii, Cuv., whose dorsal scales are rough and carinate like those on

the tail. The

Ophisaurusj, Baud.

The Lizard Serpents only differ from the preceding subgenus in the
entire deficiency of any external appearance of posterior extremities ; the
tympanum, however, is still visible, and the scales also form a fold on each
side of the body. The small lung is one-third as large as the other.

The most antiently known species, Oph,. ventralis ; Ang. vcntralis,
L., Catesb. II, lix, is common in the United States. It is of a yel-
lowish-green, spotted with black above; the tail is longer than the
body, and is so easily broken, that it is commonly termed the Glass-
Snake J.

Anguis, Cuv.

The Blind Worms, properly so called, have no external appearance
whatever of an extremity; the tympanum even being concealed under the
skin ; the maxillary teeth compressed and hooked, and none in the palate.
The body is surrounded with imbricated scales, but has no fold on the
side. One of the lungs half the size of the other.

* Pseudopus, i. e. false foot. I have never been able to discover any division of
the extremity of this very small vestige of a foot. M. Schneider has been equally
unsuccessful.

■f From the Greek words, ophis, a Serpent, and sauros, a Lizard.

}' Add Ophis punctatus ; Oph, slriatulus, Nob.; two new species.

SERPENTS.

One species is very common throughout Europe; Anguis fragilis,

L., Lacep. II, xix, 1, which has very smooth, shining scales, silvery
yellow ahove and blackish beneath; three black lines along the back,
which change by age into various series of points, and finally disap-
pear. Its tail is as long as the body, the whole animal being a foot
and some inches; it feeds on lumbrici and insects, and produces its
young alive *.
These three genera still have an imperfect pelvis, a small sternum, a

scapula, and clavicle, hidden under the skin. The absence of all these

bony parts compels us to separate the subgenus I call

AcoNTiAsf, Cuv.

Which still resemble the preceding in the structure of the head, and in
the eye-lids, but in which there is neither sternum nor vestige of a shoulder
or pelvis. The anterior ribs unite with each other beneath the trunk, by
cartilaginous prolongations. I have only found one moderate sized lung,
and another that is very small. The teeth are small and conical, and I
think I have perceived them in the palate. These animals are easily re-
cognized by their muzzle, which is enclosed as in a sort of mask.

The well-known species, Anguis meleagris, L., Seb. II, xxi, 1 j,
inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. It resembles the A. fragilis, but
its obtuse tail is much shorter; eight longitudinal rows of brown
spots decorate its back. The same country produces other species,
one of which is completely blind, the Ac. ccecus, Cuv.

FAMILY II.

SERPENTIA.

The true Serpents, which are by far the most numerous, comprise the
genera without either sternum or the vestige of a shoulder, but the ribs
still surround a great part of the circumference of the trunk, and in
which the body of each vertebra is still articulated by a convex surface to
a cavity in the succeeding one ; the third eye-lid and the tympanum are

* The Anguis eri.r, L., is merely a young specimen of the fragilis, in which the
dorsal lines are still well marked; the A. clivicus, of which Daudin makes an Erix,
no one knows why, is an old animal of the same species, with a truncated tail. It is
only quoted from Gronovius, who cites the Coluber of Gesner. This Coluber is an
oh\ fragilis.

f Acontias {javelin) the Greek name of a Serpent, which was believed to dart upon
the passenger, from Akontizo, jacuhr.

X Daudin has also made an Erix of the Anguis meleagris, but without any reason,
for its inferior scales are not larger than the others. I have ascertained, by dissec-
tion, that this Serpent has no sternum, so that the supposition of M. Oppel to the
contrary is erroneous.

48 REPTILES.

deficient; but the malleus of the ear exists under the skin, and its handle
passes behind the tympanum. There is still a vestige of a posterior
limb, concealed undeiv the skin, in several of this family, and which in
some of them shows its extremity externally in the form of a small
hook*.

We subdivide them into two tribes.

That of the AiviPHisBiEN#: (the Double Walkers), as in the preceding
reptiles, still has the lower jaw supported by a tympanal bone directly
articulated with the cranium, the two branches of this jaw soldered together
in front, and those of the upper one fixed to the cranium and to the inter-
maxillary bone, — circumstances that prevent that dilation of the mouth
which obtains in the succeeding tribe, and which occasions a uniformity of
the head and body, a form which enables them to move backwards or for-
wards with equal facility. The bony frame of the orbit is incomplete be-
hind, and the eye very small ; the body is covered with scales, the anus
is close to its extremity, the trachea long, and the heart very far back.
They are not venomous.

They form two genera, one of which is allied to Chalcides and Chirotes,
and the other to Anguis and Acontias.

Amphisb^na-]-, L.

The whole body surrounded with circular ranges of quadrangular scales,
like the Chalcides and the Chirotes among the Saurians ; a series of pores
before the anus, a few conical teeth in the jaws, but none in the palate.
There is but one lung.

Two species have long been known, Amph. alba, Lacep. II, xxi,
1; and Amph. fuliginosa, L., Seb. II, xviii, 2, C. 3, and lxxiii, 4,
both from South America. They feed on insects, and are often found
in ant-hills, which has occasioned a belief among the people that the
large ants are their purveyors. They are oviparous j.

There is another in Martinique entirely blind, Amph. cceca, Cuv.||

The Leposternon, Spix, are Amphisbaenae, the anterior part of whose
trunk has a collection of plates above which interrupts the rings. They
have no anal pores, their head is short, and their muzzle is somewhat
elongated§.

* See the dissertation (German) of M. Mayer on the posterior extremities of the
Ophidians, in the 12th vol. des Curieux de la Nature of Bonn.

f From the Greek words amphis and bainein, walking both ways. The antients
attributed two heads to it. This name has been erroneously applied to some Ameri-
can Serpents, which it is impossible the antients could have known.

1 The Amph. flavescens, Pr. Max. lib. ix.

|| May it not be the A. vermicularis, Spix, XXV, 2? he says, " occult vix con-
spicui" — I can see none. He employed the same expression for his A. oxyura.

§ Lcp. microcephalics, Spix, or Amph. punctata, Pr. Max.

SEUPEXTS. 49

T y p h lo ps * , Sch n . ,

Have the body covered with small imbricated scales like Anguis, with
which they were long classed; the projecting muzzle furnished with
platesf; tongue long and forked; the eye resembling a point hardly
visible through the skin; the anus close to the very extremity of the
body; one of the lungs four times larger than the other. They are small
Serpents, at the first glance resembling earth-worms; they are found in
the hot portions of both continents.

In some of them the head and body are of one uniform appearance,
the former obtuse. They resemble pieces of slender twine t.

Most of them have a depressed and obtuse muzzle, furnished before
with several plates §.

The front of the muzzle in some is covered with a single large plate,
the anterior edge of which is somewhat trenchant |].

Finally, there is another whose muzzle is terminated by a little conical
point, and which is entirely blind. Its posterior extremity is enveloped
with an oval and horny shield*}]".

In the second tribe, that of the Serpentes, or Serpents, properly so
called, the tympanal bone or pedicle of the lower jaw is moveable, and is
itself always suspended to another bone, which is analogous to the mas-
toidean process, attached to the cranium by muscles and ligaments, which
allow it some motion. The branches of this jaw are not so closely united
with each other, and those of the upper one are merely connected with
the intermaxillary bone by ligaments, so that they can separate to a greater
or less extent, which enables these animals so to dilate their mouths as to
swallow bodies larger than themselves.

Their palatine arches participate in this facility of motion, and are
armed with sharp pointed teeth, which curve backwards, the most predo-
minant and constant character of the tribe. Their trachea is very long,
their heart very far back, and most of them have but one large lung with
a vestige of another.

These Serpents are divided into venomous and non-venomous ; and the

* From the Greek word Tuphlops, or Tuphline, blind, the names of the Anguis
(slow-worms) among the Greeks. Spix has substituted Stenostoma.

+ I could find no teeth in those I examined.

% T. braminus, Cuv., or Rondos- talaloopam, Russel, Serp. Corom. XLIII, or Eryx
braminus, Daud., or Tortrix Russelii, Merr.

§ An?, reticulatus, Sch., Phys. Sacr. pi. dccxlvii, 4; — Ti/phlops septemstriatus,
Sehn. ; — T. crocotattts, Id.; — T. leucorhous, Oppel, &c Seb. I, vi, 4, is a species of
this subdivision.

|| Ang. lumbricalis, Lacep. II, pi. xx, Brown, Jam. XLIV, 1, Seb. I, lxxxvi, 2; —
T. albifrons, Opp. In this genus, as in all others where the species are very similar,
the latter have not been well determined; it is well worthy of a monograph. We
are acquainted with at least twenty species.

If Typhlops philippimis, Cuv. Eight inches long, all blackish. The T. oxyrhijn-
chvs, Schn., must be closely allied to it.

VOL. II. E

£0 REPTTLES.

former are subdivided into the venomous with several maxillary teeth, and
the venomous with insulated fangs.

In the non-venomous, the branches of the upper jaw as well as those
of the lower one, and the palatine arches, are every where furnished with
fixed and solid teeth ; there are then four equal rows of these teeth in the
upper part of the mouth, and two below *.

Those of the non-venomous, which have the mastoid processes com-
prised in the cranium, the orbit incomplete behind, and a thick, short
tongue, still retain much similitude to the Double-walkers, Amphisbcencc,
in the cylindrical form of their head and body; they were formerly united
with the Anguis, on account of their small scales. They constitute the
Rollers.

ToRTRixf, Oppel.

They are otherwise distinguished from the Anguina, even externally,
inasmuch as the scales which form the range along the belly and under
part of the tail are a little larger than the others, and the tail itself is ex-
tremely short. They have but one lung.

The species known are from America, the most common must be
Anguis set/tale, L., Seb. II, xx, 3. (The Ribbon). Two feet long,
irregularly annulated, white and black J. The

Uropeltis, Cuv.,

Is a new genus allied to Tortrix, in which the tail is still shorter, and
obliquely truncated above, the truncated surface flat, and studded with
granules. The head is very small, the muzzle pointed; there is a range
of scales along the belly somewhat larger than the others, and a double
range of them under their stump of a tail §.

In those non-venomous Serpents, on the contrary, in which the mastoid
bones are detached, and the jaws are susceptible of great dilatation, the
occiput is more or less enlarged, and the tongue forked and very ex-
tensible.

* The common opinion respecting them is, that those which are destitute of the
pierced fangs in front of the jaws are not venomous, but I have some reason to doubt
its correctness. They all have a maxillary gland, which is frequently very large, and
their back molars exhibit a groove which may serve to convey some fluid. It is very
certain that several of the species in which the back molars are very large, are ac-
counted extremely venomous in the countries they inhabit, and that the experiments
of Lalande and Leschenault have served to confirm that opinion; the repetition of
these experiments is much to be desired.

f They are the Anilits, Oken, the Torquatkix, Gray, and the Ilysia, Hemp-
rich and Fitzinger.

X Add, Aug. corallinus, Seb. II, Ixxiii, 2, 1,3, which is perhaps a mere variety of
the scytale; — Aug. aler, Id. XXV, 1, and VII, .'5; — Tortr. rttfa, Merr., which seems
to me a variety of the atra; — An%. maculatus and tessellatus, Seb. II, c. 2; — F. lattu,
N. Seba, II, xxx, .'J; Russel, XLIV;— Tort, punctata, Nob., Seb. II, 11, 1, 2, 3, 4,
and VI, 1, 4.

§ Uropeltis ceylanicits, Nob.; Urop. philippinus ; two new species, similar to the
Tortrices even in colour.

SERPENTS. 3X

They have long been divided into principal genera, Boa and Coluber,
distinguished by the simple or double plates on the under part of the tail.
The genus

Boas*, Lin.,

Formerly comprised all those Serpents, venomous or not, the under part
of whose body and tail is furnished with uninterrupted, transverse scaly
bands, and which have neither spur nor rattle at the end of the tail. As
they are rather numerous, even after deducting from them the venomous
Serpents, they are again subdivided.

The Boas, properly so called, have a hook on each side of the anus, a
compressed body, thickest in the middle, a prehensile tail, and small scales
on the head, at least on its posterior portion. It is in this genus that are
found the largest of all serpents ; certain species attain a length of thirty
or forty feet, and are able to swallow dogs, deer, and even, as some tra-
vellers state, oxen, after having crushed them between their folds, covered
them with saliva, and enormously dilated their jaws and throat. This
operation is very protracted. One remarkable peculiarity of their anatomy
is, that their small lung is but half the length of the other.

The integuments of the head and jaws of these serpents furnish ma-
terials for a still further subdivision.

1. In some the head down to the tip of the muzzle is covered with
small scales, similar to those on the body, and the plates on the jaws are
not pitted. Such is the

Boa constrictor, L. ; Le Devin, Lacep. II, xvi, 1 ; Seb. I, xxxvi,
5, liii, 11, lxxxviii, 5, xcix, 1, ci; Devin or Boa empereur of
Daudin-f. Known by a broad chain, which extends along the back,
formed alternately by large, blackish, irregularly hexagonal spots,
and by pale oval ones, the two ends of which are emarginate, consti-
tuting a very elegant object.

2. In others there are scaly plates from the eyes to the end of the
muzzle, but no fossulas on the jaws.

Boa scytale and murina, L. ; Anacondo, Seb. II, xxiii, 1, and
xxix, 1 ; B. aqnatica, Pr. Max. liv. II. Brown ; a double suite of
round black spots along the back ; ocellated spots on the flanks.

3. Others have scaly plates on the muzzle, and little pits of fossula? on
the lateral plates of the jaws.

* Boa, the name of certain Italian Serpents of great size, most probably the four
striped Coluber, or Serpent of Epidaurus of the Latins. Pliny says they were thus
named, because they sucked the teats of Cows. The Boa, 120 feet long, which it is
pretended was killed in Africa by the army of Regulus, was probably a Python.
See Pliny, lib. VIII, cap. xiv.

f Daudin thinks that the Devin is to be found in the eastern continent, but it is
certainly from Guiana. Vaillant and Humboldt have procured it there. Pr. Max.
has found it in Brazil. The two succeeding species were also brought from Surinam
by M. Le Vaillant, and it is well known that the Bojobi inhabits Brazil. I do not
think there is any large Boa, properly so styled, in the eastern world. The great
Serpents of Africa and India are Pythons. The name Devin arises from the circum-
stance of having improperly applied to this Serpen) what is stated respecting certain
large Colubers, which constitute the Fetiches of some negro tribes.

F. 2

52 REPTILES.

Boa cenchris, L. : Aboma and Porte Anncau, Daiid. ; Seb. I, Ivi,
4, II, xxviii, 2, and xcviii; Boa ccnchrya, Pr. Max. liv. VI.
Fawn-coloured, with a suite of large brown rings along the back, and
variable spots on the flanks.

These three species, which attain a nearly equal size, inhabit the
marshy grounds of the hot parts of America; attaching themselves
by their tail round some aquatic tree, they dart their floating body
upon the quadrupeds which come there to drink.

4. Some have plates on the muzzle, the side of the jaw being
grooved so as to resemble a slit beneath the eye, and further back*.

5. Finally, there are others in which the fossula? are wanting, but
whose muzzle is furnished with slightly prominent plates, cut
obliquely from behind forwards, and truncated at the end, so that
they terminate in a wedge. Their body is greatly compressed, and
their back carinated. These inhabit the East Indies, and may con-
stitute a distinct subgenus)". Schneider has separated from the
Boas his

Pseudo-boas — Scytale, Merr.

Which have plates like the Coluber, not only on the muzzle, but also on
the cranium; no fossulse, a round body, and the head and trunk one uni-
form piece, as in TortrixJ. Daudin also has separated it from the
Erices, or

Erix§, Baud.,

"Which differ from the Pseudo-boas in their tail being very short and ob-
tuse, and in the ventral scales being narrower. Their head is short, and
nearly of one uniform piece with the body; these characters would ap-
proximate them to Tortrix if the conformation of their jaws did not forbid
it; besides, the head is only covered with small scales. There is no hook
near the anus. We may approximate to these the

Ekpeton||, Lacep.

Erpetons, which are very remarkable for two soft prominences covered
with scales borne by them on the end of the muzzle. The head is fur-
nished with large plates, those on the belly have but little breadth, and the

* The Boa brodcrie (B. hortulana, L.), Seb. II, lxxxiv, 1, and the elegant, Daud.
V, Ixiii, 1, which is the same;— the Bojobi (B. ca?iina,L.), Seb. II, Ixxxiand xevi, 2,
or Xiphosoma araramboja, Spix, VI. The B. hipnalc, Seb. II, xxxiv, 1, 2, and Lacep.
II, xvi, 11, appears to be nothing more than a young Bojobi; — the B. Merremmii,
Sch.il., Merr. Beytr. II, ii, or Xiphosoma dorsuale, Spix, XV, of which Daud. has
made his genus Coralle, from the probably accidental and individual character of
the two first plates under the neck being double.

f The B. carinata, Schn., or the ocellata, Opp.; — the B. viperina, Sh. Russel, pi.
iv- — N. B. These two subdivisions form the genus Xiphosoma, Fitz., the Cenchris
of Gray.

% Sai/tale coronata, Merr. Seb. II, xli, 1, Pr. M. liv. VII. N. B. The Scytale of
Merrem must not be confounded with that of Daudin, which is the Echis of Merrem.

§ Erix (hair), a name applied by Linnseus to a species of Anguis.

|| From the Greek, Erpetos, Serpent.

SERPENTS. 53

sub-caudal ones hardly differ from the rest; the tail itself, however, is
long and pointed*.

Coluber f, Lin.

The Snakes comprise all those Serpents, venomous or non-venomous,
whose sub-caudal plates are divided in two, that is, which are arranged by
pairs.

Independently of the subtraction of the venomous species, their num-
ber is so enormously great, that naturalists have had recourse to all sorts
of characters to subdivide them. We may separate, in the first place,

Python, Daud.

The Pythons, which have hooks near the anus, and narrow ventral
plates, as in the Boas, from which these serpents only differ in the double
sub-caudal plates on the under part of the tail. The end of the muzzle
is furnished with plates, and their lips are pitted.

Some species are as large as any Boa: such is the Ular-Sawa or
Great Coluber of the Sunda Islands, Col. javanicus, Sch., which has
been found more than thirty feet in length. Seb. I, lxii; II, xix, 1 ;
xxviii, 1 ; xcix, 2 j.

The last caudal plates in some of these Pythons, and the first in others,
are simple §. This may sometimes be an accidental difference.

Cerberus, Cnv.

Nearly the whole of the head, as in the Pythons, covered with small
scales, and no plates but what are found between and before the eyes; but
the hooks at the anus are wanting. Sometimes there are simple plates at
the base of the tail||.

Xenopeltis, Reinwardt,

Have large triangular and imbricated plates behind the eyes, becoming
confounded with the succeeding ones, which merely decrease in size^[.

Heterodon, Beauv.,
Have the usual plates of a Coluber, but the end of the muzzle is one

* Erpeton tentacule, Lacep. Ann. Mus. IT, 1, a name given to this genus by
Lacep., who first described it; Merrem ha - ib til ited Rhinopirus.

f Coluber, the Latin generic name lor Serpen! .

X This Ular-sawa, or Python amelhiste, Daud., Boa amethystina, Schn., of which
we possess one great skeleton and several skins, brought from Java by M. Lesche-
nault, is at least closely allied to the Pedda-poda of Bengal {Python tigre, Daud.),
Russel, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, Col. borrformis, Sh., Boa castanea BiaA. albicans, Schn. ;
and it appears to us that all the pretended species of Boa of the eastern continent
are in fact Pythons. Ular-sawa, in the Malay language, signifies the River-Serpent.
The R. reticulata, ordin'ata, rhombeata, Schn., arc all Pythons.

§ The Bora, Russ. XXXIX {Boa orbiculata, Schn.).

|| Wc have seen these plates simple in one individual, and double in others of the
same species, a proof of the little importance of this character. To this group be-
long the Col. cerberus, Daud., Russel, pi. xvii; — Homolopsis obtusatus, Reinw., and
the neighbouring species.

^f Xenopeltis concolor, Reinw.

51 REPTILES.

single piece, snort, and resembling in form a slightly elevated triedral
pyramid, one ridge being above; from which, circumstance they have
been called Hog-noses*

Hurria, Baud.

These are small Colubers of India, in which the plates on the base of
the tail are always simple, and those on the point double; these anoma-
lies, however, merit but little attention f.

Dips as, Laurent. — Bungarus, Oppel,

Have the body compressed, much narrower than the head; scales of the
spinal range larger than the others, a circumstance which we shall find
again in Bungarus. Such is the

D. indica, Cuv. ; Colub. bucejohalus, Sh.; Seb. I, xliiij. Black,
ringed with white.

Dendrophis, Fitz. — Ahcetulla, Gray,

Have the scales of the spinal range larger, as in Dipsas, and those along
the flanks narrower; but their head is not broader than the body, which
is very long and slender: the muzzle obtuse §.

Drynius, Merr. — Passerita, Gray,

Have the body as long and slender as in the preceding subdivision; but
there is a little slender and pointed appendage to the end of the muzzle||.

Dryophis, Fitz.,

Have the same thread-like form, the muzzle pointed, but no appendage;
their scales are equal ^[.

* The Heterodon noirdtre, Beanv. , heterodon, Daud., and the heterodon tachet&
(Cenchris mokeson, Daud.), belong to this genus; but Reauvois lias established it on
a character which is found in .. gr ;,i man)' Colubers, viz., that of the posterior max-
illary teeth being the largest ; and Daudin appears to have known his Mokeson by a
drawing only, we mean the Hug-nose of Catesby, II, pi. lvi, which Daud. himself has
cited. A part of its tail-plates is sometimes entire; but at the base, and not near
the point, as Daud. describes it. Linnceushad correctly indicated this Serpent in his
tenth edition, under the name of Coluber constrictor; why he chauged it in the twelfth
to Boa coneoririx, is not known (a).

f Hurriali, a barbarous name, taken from that which designates the species, Russ.
XL, copied Daud. V. xlvi, 2. Another, Merr. II, iv.

X Dipsas, the Greek name of a Serpent whose bite was thought to cause a fatal
thirst, from the Greek word dipsa, thirst. The fig. of Conrad Gesner, at the word
dipsas, is precisely of this subgenus. The Dip. indica is altogether different from
the I'ipvra atrax, Mus. Ad. Fred. XXII, 2, with which Linnaeus, Laurentini, and
Daudin have confounded it.

5 Col. ahcetulla; — Col. decorus, Shaw; — Col. caracaras, Id. (Bungarus filiform is.
Oppel.), to which I add the Siuoxs, Fitz.; at least in the Col. catenulatus, Russ. pi.
xv, the dorsal scales are rhomboidal and larger, as in the ahcetulla.
|| Cut. nasu us, Russ. Serp. pi. xii and xiii.

^f Col. fulgidus, Daud. VI, lxxx; Seb. II, liii, 9; — Dryinus ceneus, Spix, III.

jjg5° (a) The author in this note has confounded three species of Serpents which
are not distinct — the Heterodon, the Trigonocephaly tisiphone or Mockason Snake, and
the Coluber constrictor or Black Snake. The Heterodon is a harmless animal, and
has the plates on the top of the head arranged, '6, 2, 3, 2. — Eng. Ed.

SERPENTS.

55

Oligodon, Boie.

Small Colubers, with a short, narrow, obtuse head, in which the pala-
tine teeth are wanting.

The various remaining subgenera which have been separated from that
of Coluber, appear to us less worthy of being retained ; they are founded
upon slight variations in the proportions of the head, thickness of the
trunk, &c* After all these divisions, the Colubers are more numerous
in species than any other genus of Serpents. Several are found in
France. Such as

Col. natrix, L. ; Couleuvre a collier, Lac. II, vi, 2. (The Ringed
Snake). Cinereous, with black spots along the flanks, and three
white ones on the neck, forming a collar; scales carinate, that is to
say, raised into a ridge. Very common in meadows and stagnant
waters; it feeds on frogs, insects, &c, and is eaten in several of the
provinces.

There is a closely allied species in Sicily, which is much larger,
and has a black collar, the Col. siculus, Nob.

Col. viperinus, Latr. ; La Fiperine. Grey-brown ; a suite of
black spots forming a zigzag along the back, and another of smaller
ocellated ones along the sides, a kind of colouring which gives it a
resemblance to the Viper; beneath chequered with grey and black;
scales carinated.

Col. austriacus, Gm. ; La Lisse, Lacep. II, ii, 2. Brown-red;
marbled beneath with steel-colour; two ranges of small blackish
spots along the back ; scales smooth, each with a small brown dot
near the point.

Col. atro-virens; La verte et jaune, Lacep. II, vi, 1. Spotted
with black and yellow above; beneath of a greenish yellow; scales
smooth.
The south of France and Italy produce,

Col. girondicus, Daud. ; La Couleuvre Bordelaise, which has
nearly the same colours as the viperinus, but the scales are smooth,
and the dorsal spots smaller and more apart.

Col. elaphis, Sh.; La Quatre-Raies, Lacep. II, vii, 1. Fawn-
colour, with four brown or black lines on the back. It is the largest
of the European serpents, and sometimes exceeds six feet. We
have reason to think it is the Boa of Pliny.

Col. Msculapii\, Sh. (The Serpent of iEsculapius). Stouter

• By this I particularly mean the Tyria, Malpolon, Psammophis, Coro-
nella, Xenodon, and Pseudoelai's of Fitzingcr. At most, we could only adopt
his Duberria, where the head is short, obtuse, and on one uniform line witli the
body, as in Elaps; and his Homalopsis, in which the eyes are rather more vertical
than in the other Colubers. Observe that I have separated Cerberus from them.
Laurentini had previously endeavoured to divide the Colubers into Coluber and
CoronellA; the latter were those in which the scales on the sides of the temporal
plates are large enough to be counted as so many plates more; but the transitions
from one group to another are almost insensible.

f N.B. The Col. Msculapii, Lin., is a very different, and an American species.

56 REPTILES.

tli an the elaphis, but not so long; brown above ; straw colour be-
neath and on the flanks; Jorsal scales nearly smooth. Found in
Italy, Hungary, and Illyria. It is represented by the antients in
their statues of JEsculapius, and the Serpent of Epidaurus was
probably of this species.
The Colubers, foreign to Europe, are innumerable; some are remark-
able for the vividness of their colours, others for the regularity of their
distributions; the tints of several are tolerably uniform. But few of
them attain a very large size*.

Acrochordus, Hornstedt,

Are easily distinguished by the little uniform scales which cover the head
and body, both above and beneath. In the species known,

A. javensis, Lac. II, xi, 2; Anguis granulatus, Schn.; Oular
caron of Java; each of the scales is relieved with three small ridges,
which, when the skin is well stuffed, resemble insulated tubercles.
It attains a large size. Hornstedt erroneously states it to be fru-
givorous — which would be a very singular habit for a serpent p.

Venomous Serpents, par excellence, or those with isolated fangs, have
a very peculiar structure in their organs of manducation.

Their superior maxillary bones are very small, borne on a long pedicle,
analogous to the external pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone, and are
very moveable; in them is fixed a sharp pointed tooth, pierced by a canal,
through which flows a liquor secreted by a large gland, situated under the
eye. It is this liquor which, poured into the wound made by the tooth, carries
the destructive influence into the bodies of animals, and there produces
effects which are more cr less violent, according to the species of the
reptile in which it is secreted. This tooth, when the animal does not
wish to use it, is concealed in a fold of the gum, and behind it are several
germs destined to replace it, in the event of its being broken in a wound.

* The Colubers presenting but few variations of structure that are interesting,
I have not thought it necessary to give in this place the long catalogue. It
will be found in the works of Merrem, Graelin, Daudin, and Shaw. It is neces-
sary, however, to consult them with much caution and critical nicety: they abound
in transpositions of synonymes,<Src.' For instance, the Col. viridissimus ami the Col.
jantkinus, Men - . I, :di, only differ from the effects of the spirit of wine; — the Col.
korridus, Daud. Merr. II, x, (Col. viperinus, Shaw), is the same as the demi- collier,
Lac. II, viii, 2;— the Caul, violette, Lacep. II, viii, 1, and the Col. reginee, Mus. Ad.
IV. XIII, 2, only differ by the action of the spirit. Such, also, should be considered
the Col. lineatus, Seb. XII, 3; Mus. Ad. fr. XII, 1, xx, 1; — the Col. jaculatrtx, Seb.
I, 9, Scheuchz., DCCXV, 2;— the Col. atratus, Seb. I, 9, ix, 2, and even the t&U-
neatus, Lacep. II, xiii, 1; — the Col. sibilans, Seb. I, ix, 1, II, lvi, 4; and the Coul.
ckapelet, Lacep. II, xii, 1, appear equally alike, as well as the Col. Msculapii, Jacq.
and the flavescens, Scopol., &c. &c. &c. As to the transposition of synonymes, they
are innumerable. N.B. The Enhydrus of Daud. would be non-venomous Colu-
bers, with a compressed tail, but the only species he cites, Avgui.s xyphura, Hern.
aft', an p. 269, and Obs. Zool. p. 288, is evidently a Hydrophis or a Pelamis.

f We have never been able to discover the particular bone Oppel. says he ob-
served ill the Acrochordus, as taking the place of the poison-fangs, and M. Lesche-
nault assures us that the Acrochordus is harmless.

SERPENTS. 57

These venomous teeth have been termed by naturalists moveable fangs,
but in fact it is the maxillary bone which moves; there are no other teeth
in it, so that in this kind of dangerous serpents only the two rows of
palatine teetli are to be seen in the upper part of the mouth.

All the venomous species, whose mode of production has been accu-
racy determined, bring forth living young ones, as their eggs are
hatched without being laid, from which circumstance is derived their com-
mon name of Vipers, a contraction of viviparous.

Venomous serpents with insulated fangs have external characters very
similar to those of the preceding ones, but in the greater number the jaws
are very dilatable, and the tongue very extensible. The posterior portion
of their head being broad, generally gives them a ferocious aspect, which
i.s a partial indication of their disposition. They form two great genera,
Crotalus and Vipera, the second of which has been variously sub-
divided, and some smaller ones group around them.

Crotalus*', Lin.

Rattlesnakes are celebrated above all other Serpents for the intensity of
their poison. Like the Boas, they have transverse simple plates under
the body and tail ; but their most distinguishing character is the rattle
which they carry at the end of the tail, and which is formed by several
scaly cornets loosely fitted into each other, and which move and produce
the peculiar noise or rattle whenever they crawl or shake their tail. The
number of these cornets increase with age, an additional one being always
found after each moult. There is a little round indentation or pit behind
each nostril']". All these species whose habitat is well ascertained are
from America. The danger resulting from the bite of these noxious
reptiles is in proportion to the warmth of the climate or of the season;
their natural disposition, however, is in general tranquil, and sufficiently
dull, and they are rather slow and heavy in their motions, never biting
unless provoked, or to kill the prey on which they feed.

Although the Rattlesnake never ascends trees, its principal food con-
sists of birds, squirrels, ecc. It has long been supposed that it possesses
the faculty of rendering them powerless by its breath, or even of charming
them, that is to say, to force them by a single glance to drop into their
mouths; this, however, is not so, and the reptile in question seizes its
prey while under the agitation and terror produced by iis appearance J.

In most of the species there are scales on the head similar to those mi
ih- back.

('nil. horridus, L.; ; II, xli, (The Diamond Rattlesnake),

io th pe i< mosl common in the United States; brown, with irre-

* Crotalus, from the Greek word crotalon.

•| Sue Russell and Home, Phil. Trans. 1804, pi. iii, p. 7'i.

■ton, " Memoir on the Power of Fascination attributed to the I
snake," Philad. 17').;.

58 REPTILES.

gular blackish transverse bands. That of Guiana, Crot. dwrissus*,
Lacep. II, xiii, 2, (The Banded Rattlesnake), has lozenge shaped
spots edged with black, and four black lines along the top of the
neck ; both species are equally to be dreaded, as death speedily fol-
lows a wound from their fangs. They are sometimes found six feet
in length (a).

The head of some species is furnished with large plates j.
We should approximate to the Rattlesnakes the

Trigonocephalus, Oppel. — Bothrops, Spix. — Cophias, Merr.

Which, however, are distinguished from them by the want of a rattle, but
having the same pits behind the nostrils, and being at least equally as
venomous.

The sub-caudal plates in some of them are simple, as in the Rattle-
snake, their head being covered with plates to behind the eyes; their tail
terminates in a small horny spur J. Such is the

Colub. tisiphotie, Shaw; Catesb. II, xliii and xliv. (The Brown
Viper of Carolina). Brown, clouded with spots of deeper brown.

In others the sub-caudal scales are double, and the head is covered
with scales similar to those on the back§. Such among others is

Trig, lanceolatus, Opp.||; Serpent jaune des Antilles, Lacep. II,
v, 1. (The Lance-headed Viper). The most dangerous reptile of
the French Sugar islands ; it is yellowish or greyish, more or less
varied with brownish, and attains the length of six and seven feet;
it lives among the sugar-canes, where it feeds on rats, and occasions
the death of many of the negroes**.

The head of some of these Trigonocephali with double sub-caudal scales
is furnished with plates -j-j\

Others, along with the small scales on the head, have double plates be-

* These names of durissus and horridus have been variously applied to these two
species.

f It is this subdivision which furnished M. Gray with his genus Crotalophorus,
and M. Fitzinger with that of Caudisona. The Crot. miliaris, L., Catesb. 1 1, xlii,
belongs to it.

X They are the Tisiphone of Fitzinger.

§ In the work of M. Fitzinger, this division is called Craspedocephalus; all
the Bothrops, Spix, pi. xix — xxiii, belong to it.

|| This species inhabits Brazil, and most probably other parts of South America;
I am even inclined to think it is the Aouroitcou of Spix, pi. xxiii, which he considers
the Crt.t. mutus or lachesis.

** Here comes the Trimeresure vert, Lacep. An. Mus. IV, lvi, 2, or Boodropam,
Russel, Serp. Corom. IX, which sometimes has two or three entire plates under the
root of the tail; this, however, is but an individual accident. Add, Cophias bilineatus,
Pr. Max. No. V; — C. atrox; — C.jacaraca.

j f Fitzinger appropriates the name of Trigonocephalus to this subdivision.

|jg|r (a) These two Rattlesnakes are common to the United States. There is a
third, the H. miliaris, in that country, though the most dangerous, it can make no

noise with the cornets, which are furnished equally as in the other Snakes.

Enc. Ed.

SERPENTS. 59

meath the tail, with the exception of the very extremity, which is merely
furnished above and beneath with small imbricated scales, and terminates
in a little spur*. Of this number is the

Crot. mutus, L. ; Col. alecto, Sh. ; Seb. II, lxxvi, 1; Lachesis
rhombeata, Pr. Max. No. V. Yellowish; the back marked with
large black or brown lozenges ; scales raised in the middle. It is
found six and seven feet long, and is quite as formidable as the
Rattlesnakes.

Viper a, Daud.

The Vipers, most of which were confounded with the Colubers by Lin-
narns, on account of their having also the double sub-caudal plates, require
to be separated from them from the circumstance of their having poisonous
fangs. There are also some serpents which naturally belong to this divi-
sion, whose sub-caudal plates are either wholly or partially simple. They
are all distinguished from the Rattlesnakes and the Trigonocephali by the
absence of the pits behind the nostrils.

In some the head is only furnished with imbricated and carinated scales
like those on the backf. Such is

Vip. brachyura, Cuv.; Seb. II, xxx, 1. (The Minute Viper).
The intensity and activity of its poison render it one of the most
terrible of the genus J.

In the Adders the head is covered with small granulated scales, as for
instance,

Col. berus, L. (The Common Viper). Brown ; a double row of
transverse spots on the back ; a range of black or blackish spots on
each flank. Sometimes the dorsal spots coalesce in transverse bands,
and at others they all form one zig-zag longitudinal band, in which
state it is the Colub. aspis, L.§, which is sometimes called Aspic in
the neighbourhood of Paris. Individuals are found perfectly black [|.

Vip. illyrica, Aldrov. 169; Col. atnmodytes ; La Vipere a museau
comic, Jacquin. Collect. IV, pi. xxiv and xxv. Very nearly similar

* It is the genus Lachesis, Daud., adopted by Fitzinger, but badly characterized;
the sub-caudal plates are certainly double, almost to the very end, where there is
nothing but very small scales. Pr. Max. gives a correct view of it.

f This, with the following division, forms the subgenus Echidna of Merrem,
which, with his Echis, of which we shall speak hereafter, composes his genus
Vii'ERA. Fitzinger arranges our three first divisions in three genera, which he
nanus Vipera, Cobra, and Aspis.

% Add the Aspic, Lacep. II, ii, 1, {Vip. ocellata, Lath.), a large species allied to
the alropos, Lin. Mus. Ad. Fred. XIII; but very different from the aspis of Lin-
liEeiis, which is a mere variety of the common species; — Vip. Clolho, Seb. II, xciii, 1 ;
— Vip. lachesis, Id. XCIV, 2";— the Daboie, Lacep, II, xiii, 2, or the brasilienne, Id.
IV, 1;— the Vip. elegante, Daud. Russel, VII, &c.

§ Aspis, a Serpent of Egypt, of which there were several species. One of them,
from the dilatability of its neck, must have been the llaje.

|| Berus is the name of a serpent only used by the authors of the middle century,
such as Albert, Vincent de Beauvais, &c, and then for an aquatic species, probably
the Col. natrix. The Vipere de Charas, of which Laurenti endeavoured to make a
species, and which is the Col. aspis, Gmel,, is the same as this common Viper, winch,
in my opinion, is the true berus of Linnajus, who on this point only cites Aldrov.
115, which is this species.

GO REPTILES.

to the common species, but particularly distinguished from it by a
small soft horn covered with scales that projects from the end of its
muzzle. It is found in Dalmatia, Hungary, &c.
. Col. cerastes, L. ; Le Ceraste, Lacep. II, 1, 2. Remarkable for
a small pointed horn on each eye-brow; it is greyish, and hides itself
in the sand, in Egypt, Lybia, &c. It is often mentioned in the
writings of the antients.

Vip. loplwphris, Nob. ; Vipere a panache, Voy. de Patterson,
pi. xv. A little bundle of short horny threads on each eye-brow in-
stead of the horn. From the environs of the Cape.

Other Vipers, similar in general to the preceding ones, have three plates,
somewhat larger than those which surround them, on the middle of the top
of the head*.

Col. chersea, L. ; Col. berus, Laurent, and Daud. Very similar
to the common Viper, and distinguished from it by the aforesaid three
plates. It is a rarer and smaller species, and said to be more ve-
nomous -[.

Some individuals are almost entirely black, called Black Vipers —
Colub. prester, Laurent, pi. iv, f. 1 J.

Next come those Vipers in which the head is furnished with plates al-
most like that of the Colubers.

Of this n'.mber some are so exactly similar to the most common Vipers,
that there is nothing but these plates to distinguish them§. Such is,

Col. hcemachates, L.; Seb. II, lviii, 1, 3.} A Cape Serpent.
Reddish-brown, marbled with white; muzzle obliquely trunca f ed
beneath.

The Naias

Are Vipers with the head furnished with plates, and the anterior ribs sus-
ceptible of being raised up and drawn forwards, so as to dilate that part of
the trunk into a disk more or less broad. The most celebrated species is
the

Col. naia, L. ; Naia tripudians, Merr. ; Serpent a lunettes, or
Cobra capello of the Portuguese in India; Seb. II, 85, 1, 89, 1 — 4,
&c. ; Lacep. II, iii, 1, (The Cobra de Cabello, or Spectacled Viper),
so called from a black line resembling the figure of a pair of specta-

* This subdivision has furnished Merrem with his genus Pelias.

f It is the Piping of the Swedes (asping, corruption of aspic), undoubtedly figured
in the Stoekhol. Mem. 1749, pi. vi. Laurenti, however, Spec. Medic, p. 97, and pi. ii,
f. 1, has applied it to the name of berus. It is also the Pelias //cms, Merr.; Vip* I, cms,
Fitzinger.

| Presther, the Greek name of a serpent, considered by several authors as identical
with the dip'sas, from Prelhein, to burn.

§ Merrem lias formed his genus Sr.rr.noN from this subdivision. Add, Col. V.
nigrum, Scheuchz. Phys. Sacr. IV, DCCXVIi

X. B. The Ophis, Spi\, Serp. XVII, must be a venomous serpent, similar to these
Sepi Inn.', but i lie whose poison fangs are preceded by some small simple teeth. Not
having seen his species, I liar it is one of those Colubers with large posterior maxil-
lary v efh before mentioned, several of which are at least liable to the suspicion of he-
ing poisonous.

SERPENTS.

61

cles traced on the widened portion of its disk. Tt is extremely poi-
sonous, but it is said that the root of the Ophiorhyza mungos is a
sure antidote against the effects of its bite. The jugglers of India
tame and teach it to dance, having previously extracted the fangs.
The same use is made of another species in Egypt, the

Col. haje, L. ; L'Haje, Geoffr., Egypt. Rept. pi. vii; and Savign.
Id. Suppl. pi. iii, whose neck is not so wide, and which is greenish
bordered with brownish. The jugglers of that country, by pressing
on the nape of the neck with their finger, throw it into a kind of ca-
talepsy, which renders it stiff and immoveable, (this is the turning of
it into a rod). Its habit of raising itself up when approached, in-
duced the antient Egyptians to believe that it was the guardian of
the fields it inhabited. They made it the emblem of the protecting
divinity of the world, and sculptured it on each side of a globe upon
the o-ates of their temples. There is no doubt that it is the serpent
described by the antients under the name of the Asp of Egypt, Asp
of Cleopatra, See.

Elaps*, Schn. (part of),
Are Vipers with a head furnished with plates, very differently organized
from the Naise. They are not only deprived of the power of dilating their
ribs, but they cannot even dilate their jaws, on account of the shortness
of t'he tympanal bone, and particularly of the mastoid ones, the result of
which is, that their head, like that of the Tortrices and Amphisbaoue, is
of one uniform piece with the body. The most common species is

Col. lemniscatus, L. ; Seb. I, x, ult. and II, lxxvi, 3. A white
o-round marked with triple black rings ; tip of the muzzle black. It
inhabits Guiana, where it is greatly dreaded, and where it causes an
equal degree of fear to the Tortrix scytale, and the Coluber JEscu-
lapii, although they are harmless, in consequence of their resem-
blance to it in form, size, and colours. There are several species of
Elaps in the two continents with a nearly similar distribution of
colours p.

Micrurus, Wagl.

Are Elaps with a very short tail.

Platurus, Lai.
Have the head enveloped with plates, and double ones under the tail; the
hitter, however, is compressed in the form of an oar, which renders them
aquatic J.

r « Schneider comprised among bis Elaps all the serpents lie supposed to be deficient
in a separated mastoid bone, but of this he judged from external appearances or the
small degree of enlargement in the occiput; this character therefore, is only true in
the Tortrices of Oppel or Ilysia. He paid no attention either to their scales or then-
venom. Elaps, Elops, are the Greek names of a non-venomous serpent

f Such arc' E. anguifo,mis, Schn.;-the Ftp. Psyche, Daud. Mil, c. l;--Col. lac-
tens Lin.Mns.Ad.Fr.XVII, 1, and better, Seb. II, xxxv, 2-,-El .nob. sunnamensis,
Seb it vi, 2, and lxxxvi, U-Col. latonius, Merr. 1, 2. and Seb. II, xx:av, '.. and
xliii, 3,'the'sa'measthe Col. lubricus ;—Col. flavius, &C.

% Le Mature a bandes {Col. laticaudatus, L., or Hydrus colubnnus, Sn.), Daud.
VII, lxxxv.

Ql REPTILES.

Finally, there are some serpents which should be placed next to the
vipers, only differing from them in their sub- caudal plates, some or all of
which are simple. They are distinguished from the Tisiphones by having
no pits behind the nostrils.

Sometimes the plates on the base of the tail are entire.

Trimeresurus, Lacep.
Larce plates on the head; part of their plates double, the others simple*.

Oplocephalus, Cuv.
Large plates on the head ; all the sub- cau dais simple 'j-.

Acanthopiiis, Daud. — Ophrias, Merr.

Plates on the fore-part of the cranium and head ; tail terminated by a
hook ; almost all its scales simple, the extreme sub-caudal ones sometimes
double J.

Echis, Merr. — Scytale, Daud.

The head covered with small scales; all the sub-caudal plates simple §.

Langaha, Brug.

Head covered with plates; muzzle salient and pointed; anterior half of
the tail completely encircled with entire rings, and the posterior covered
above and beneath with small imbricated scales ||.

In addition to these two tribes of Serpents, properly so styled, a third
has lately been recognized, in which the organization and armature of the
jaws are nearly the same as in the non-venomous serpents, but in which
the first maxillary tooth is larger than the others, and is perforated for the
transmission of the poison, as in the venomous serpents with isolated
fangs.

These serpents form two genera, distinguished, like those of the two
neighbouring families, by the covering of the belly and the under part of
the tail.

Bungarus^j, Dand. partim, — Pseudoboa, Oppel.

The Bongares have, like the Boas, Crotalus, and Echus, subventral
and subcaudal plates, simple head, short, and covered with large plates ;

* The Trimeresure a petite tete, Lacep. Am. Mus. IV, lvi, 1.

•f The species are new.

\ Acanthophis cerastinus, Daud. V, Ixxvii; and Merr. Beytr. II, ix, or Boa palbe-
brosa, Sh.; — Ac. Brownii, Leach, Zool. Miscell. I, iii, the most venomousTeptile that
is found in the environs of Port Jackson.

§ Horatta pain., Russel, II, pi. 2, or Boa hora/la, Sh., or Pseudoboa carinata, Schn.,
or Scytale bizonata, Daud. '\ , lxx; — Pseudoboa krait, Schn., or Scytale krait, Daud.

|! The Langaha of Madagascar, Lacep. I, xxii, a serpent only known by the figure
of Bruguiere.

\ Bur.garus, a barbarous term drawn from that of Bungarum-pamma, the name by
which the largest species is known in Bengal.

SERPENTS. 63

occiput but slightly enlarged. Their most distinguishing character is a
longitudinal range of scales on the back, which is strongly carinate, broader
than the lateral ones, as in Dipsas. These serpents are all from India,
where they are termed Rock Snakes. One species attains a length of
seven or eight feet*.

HvDRUsf , Schn., partim. — Hydrophis and Pelamis, Daud.

Have the posterior part of the body and tail strongly compressed, and
much raised vertically; a circumstance which, by enabling them to swim,
renders them aquatic. They are very common in certain latitudes of the
Indian Ocean. On account of their (nearly all) small scales, Linnaeus
classed such of them as he knew with the Anguines. Daudin has subdi-
vided them as follows :

Hydrophis j.

Have a range of scales on the belly somewhat larger than the others, as
in Tortrix; head small, not inflated, obtuse, and furnished with large
plates. Several species have been found in the salt-water canals of Ben-
gal, and others in the Indian Ocean §.

Pelamis.

The Pelamides have large plates on the head, but their occiput is in-
flated on account of the length of the pedicles of the lower jaw, which is
extremely dilatable ; all the scales on the body are equal, small, and ar-
ranged in compact hexagons.

The species most known, Anguis platurus, L.; Hydrus bicolor,
Schn.; Seb. II, lxxvii, 2; Russel, xli, is black above, yellow be-
neath. Although excessively venomous, it is eaten at Otaheite.

To these two subgenera I have added,

Chersydrus ||, Cuv.

Whose body and head are covered with small scales. Such is

Acrochordus fasciatus, Shaw; the Oular-limpe, Rept. pi. exxx.
A very venomous serpent, found on the bottom of rivers in Java^T.

* The Bongare a anneaux, Daud. V, Ixv, Boa fasciata, Schn., copied from Russel,
III. — Add, the Bong, bleu, Boa. lineala, Sh. Russ. I.

f Hydrus, the Greek name of an aquatic serpent, perhaps of our common Coluher;
but the Hydrus marinus of .Elian is precisely of this genus.

% Hydrophis, Water Serpent.

§ See the Hydrophis of Russel, Serp. Corom. pi. xliv, and part II, pl.vi — x. Add,
the H. cur tins, Sh., the H. spiralis, Id. pi. 125; — the Leyoselasme and the Disteyre,
Lacep. An. Mus. IV, also belong to the subgenus Hydrophis; I even think the latter
is the Hydrus major, Sh. pi. 124. They also are Serpents of the Indian Ocean, ve-
nomous, and possessed of sevei'al maxillary teeth.

N. B. I cannot agree with M. Fitzinger as to the harmlessness of the Pelamides
and the Distcyrcs ; on the contrary, I have fully ascertained their poison gland and
fangs to be organized like those of a Hydra or a Bungarus. As to the Aispysure,
Lacep. An. Mus. IV, I have not been able to procure it.

|| Chersudros, the Greek name of the Col. matrix.

Tf The Hydrus granulatus, Schn., must be closely allied to it.

N. B. The II. caspius, enhydris, rkynchops, piscator and palustris, Schn.. are mere
common Vipers and Colubers. His Hydrus colubrinus is the Banded Platurus.

64 REPTILES.

FAMILY III.

NAKED SERPENTS.

Our third and last family of the Serpents or Ophidians, that of the
Naked Serpents, consists of but one very singular genus, which several
naturalists have thought fit to refer to the Batrachians, although we are
ignorant as to the fact of its undergoing any metamorphosis. It is the

Cecilia*, Lin.

So called because its eyes, excessively small, are nearly hidden beneath
the skin, and sometimes are wanting. The skin is smooth, viscous
and furrowed by annular plaits or wrinkles ; it is apparently naked, but
on dissection we find, in its thickness, perfectly formed though delicate
scales, regularly arranged in several transverse rows between the folds of
the skin-f-. The head is depressed; the anus round and nearly at the end
of the body ; the ribs much too short to surround the trunk : the articu-
lation of the bodies of their vertebra? is effected by hollow conical facets
filled with a gelatinous cartilage, as in Fishes and in some of the last of
the Batrachians; the cranium is united to the first vertebra by two tuber-
cles, as is the case in the Batrachians, which are approximated in this re-
spect only by the Amphisbaenae among the serpents ; their maxillary bones
cover the orbit, which resembles a very small hole, and those of the tem-
ples the temporal depression, so that the head above presents one conti-
nuous bony buckler ; the hyoid bone, composed of three pairs of arches,
might induce us to suppose that at an early period it is furnished with
branchiae. The maxillary and palatine teeth are arranged on two concen-
tric lines, as in Proteus; but they are frequently sharp, and curved back-
wards, like those of serpents, properly so styled. The nostrils open be-
hind the palate, and as the tympanal bone is fixed along with those that
compose the cranial shield, there is no moveable pedicle to the lower jaw.

The auricle of the heart of these animals is not so deeply divided to in-
duce us to consider it as double, but their second lung is as small as in
other serpents; the liver is divided into a great number of transverse la-
mellae. Vegetable matters, earth and sand, are found in their intestines.
The only small bone contained in the ear is a little plate on the fenestra
ovalis, as in the Salamanders.

Some of them have an obtuse muzzle, relaxed skin, deep wrinkles, and
two small ciliar near the nostrils. Such is

Ccecilia annidata, Spix, xxvii, 1. Blackish, with eighty and odd
plicae marked with white circles; teeth conical. Found in Brazil,
where it lives in marshes several feet beneath the surface.

* Ccrcilia, the Latin for the Greek tuphlos, is the name of the Slow-worm (Orvet),
which in several parts of Europe is still called blind, although it has very fine eyes,
f A fact I have ascertained in the C. glutinosa, the White -bellied Cacilia, &c.

BATRACHIANS. (>5

C. tentaculata, L. ; Amen. Acad. I, xvii, 1. One hundred and
thirty and odd plicae, every other pair of which, particularly near the
tail, does not completely encircle the body. It is black, marbled
with white on the belly*.

Others have a much greater number of plicae, or rather of close, trans-
verse stria?.

Ccec. glutinosa, L.; Seb. XXV, 2; and Mus. Ad. Fred. IV, 1,

is of that number, having three hundred and fifty plicae, which unite
beneath at an acute angle. It is blackish, with a longitudinal yel-
lowish band along each flank. Found in Ceylon t.

Finally, there are some in which the plica? are almost effaced ;
their body is very long and slender, and their muzzle salient. One
species is completely blind, the Ccec. lumbricoides, Daud. VIII,
xcii, 2; it is blackish ; two feet in length, and about the thickness
of a goose-quill J.

ORDER IV.

THE BATRACHIANS §.

The Batrachians have a heart composed of but one auricle and one
ventricle. They all have two equal lungs, to which are joined in the ear-
liest age branchiae, that have some affinity with those of Fishes, and which
have cartilaginous arches on each side of the neck attached to the hyoid
bone. Most of them lose these branchiae, and the apparatus which sup-
ports them, when they attain their perfect state. Three genera only,
Siren, Proteus, and Menobranchus, retain them for life.

As long as these branchiae remain, the aorta is divided at its origin into
as many branches on each side as there are branchiae. The branchial
blood is brought back by veins which unite near the back in one arterial
trunk, as in Fishes. It is from this trunk, or immediately from the veins

* This Caecilia is not more tentaculated than others of its subdivision. Add,
C. albirentris, Daud. VII, xcii, 1: if it is not the same as the tentaculata; — C. hiter-
rupta, Cuv., in which the white lines of the rings do not correspond with each other
beneath; — C. rostrata, Cuv., with a more pointed muzzle, and no white edges to the
rings. It is hard to say why Spix attributes upwards of two hundred plicas to his
annulata; his figure shews but about eighty.

f It is certainly from Ceylon, although Daudin places its habitat in America; as
we have received it from the former country through the politeness of M. Lesche-
nault; a closely allied species, it is true, inhabits the latter — Ccec. bivittata, Cuv.

+ Linnaeus mentions it, Mus. Ad. Fred. V, 2, but confounds it with the tentaculata.

We have the skeleton of a Caecilia more than six feet long, and having two hun-
dred and twenty- five vertebras, but of whose external characters we are ignorant

§ From the Greek word Batrachos (Frog), animals analogous to Frogs.

VOL. II. F

00 REPTILES.

which form it, that arise most of the arteries which nourish the body, and
even those which conduct the blood to be respired in the lungs.

In those species, however, which lose their branchiae, the arterial branches
distributed through them become obliterated, with the exception of two,
which, by their union, form a dorsal artery, giving each a small branch to
the lungs. It is the circulation of a fish metamorphosed into that of a
reptile. Batrachians have neither scales nor shell; a naked skin invests
their body*, and, one genus excepted, they have no nails to their toes.

The envelope of the eggs is simply membranous ; the female is im-
pelled by the male to lay them, and, in many species, they are only fe-
cundated at the moment of their expulsion. These eggs become greatly
enlarged in the water after being laid. The young do not only differ
from the adult in the presence of the branchiae ; their feet are developed
by degrees, and in several species there are a beak and tail, which they
subsequently lose, and intestines of a different form.

Some species are viviparous.

Rana, Lin.

Frogs have four legs in their perfect state, but no tail. Their head is
flat, muzzle rounded, and the opening of their jaws large ; the tongue in
most of them is soft, and not attached to the bottom of the gullet, but to
the edges of the jaw, and folds inwards. There are but four toes to the
anterior feet; the hind ones frequently exhibit the rudiment of a sixth.

There are no ribs to their skeleton, and a prominent cartilaginous plate
supplies the place of a tympanum, and renders the ear visible externally.
The eye is furnished with two fleshy lids, and a third, which is transparent
and horizontal, concealed under the lower one.

Inspiration is solely effected by the muscles of the throat, which, by di-
lating, receive air from the nostrils, and by contracting while the nostrils
are closed by the tongue, compel that air to enter the lungs. Expiration,
on the contrary, is produced by the muscles of the lower part of the ab-
domen: thus, if we open the belly of one of these animals while alive, the
lungs dilate without being able to contract, and if we force another to keep
its mouth open, asphyxia is the consequence, as it is no longer able to
renew the air in its lungs.

The embraces of the male are long continued. His thumbs are fur-
nished with a spongy enlargement, which increases during the nuptial
season, and assists in attaching him to the female. He fecundates the
ovum at the moment of its expulsion. The little animal that is produced
from it is called a Tadpole; it is at first furnished with a long fleshy tail,
and a small horny beak, having no other apparent limbs than little fringes
on the sides of the neck. In a few days these disappear, and Swammer-
dam assures us that this is owing to their withdrawing under the skin, to

* M. Schneider has proved that the Scaly Frog of Walbaum only appeared so from
accident, a few scales from some Lizards that were kept in the same jar having ad-
hered to its hack. Sehn. Hist. Amphib. Fasc. 1, p. lfiS.

B/.TRACHIANS. 07

form there the branchia?. These latter are numerous small tufts attached
to four cartilaginous arches, placed on each side of the neck, adhering to
the hyoid bone, and enveloped in a membranous tunic, which is covered
by the general skin. The water which enters the mouth, passing through
the intervals of the cartilaginous arches, makes its exit, sometimes by two
openings, and at others by one, situated either in the middle or left side
of the external skin, according to the species. The hind feet of the Tad-
pole are very gradually and visibly developed; the fore feet are also deve-
loped, but under the skin, through which they subsequently penetrate.
The tail is gradually absorbed. The beak falls and discloses the true
jaws, which at first were soft, and concealed beneath the skin; and the
branchia? are annihilated, leaving to the lungs alone the function of re-
spiration in which they participated with those lungs. The eye which at
first could only be discerned through a transparent spot in the skin of the
Tadpole, is now visible with its three lids. The intestines, which, in the
beginning were very long, slender, and spirally arranged, become short-
ened, and acquire the enlargements requisite for the stomach and colon ;
for the Tadpole feeds solely on aquatic plants, and the adult animal upon
insects and other animal matters. Tadpoles reproduce their limbs almost
like Salamanders.

The period at which each of these changes takes place varies with the
species.

In cold and temperate climates, the perfect animal passes the winter
under ground, or in mud under water, without eating or breathing, though
if we prevent it from respiring during the summer for a few minutes by
keeping its mouth open, it dies.

Rana, Laur.
Frogs, properly so called, have a long tapering body; the hind feet ex-
tremely long, strong, and more or less perfectly palmated ; the skin smooth ;
upper jaw furnished all round with a row of small fine teeth and an inter-
rupted transverse range of them in the middle of the palate. On each
side of the head of the male and below the ear is a thin membrane, which
becomes distended with air when he croaks. These animals leap and
swim well.

R. esculenta, L. ; Rcesel. Ran. pi. xiii, xiv. (The Green Frog).
A fine green spotted with black; three yellow streaks on the back;
belly yellowish. A common species in Europe in all stagnant wa-
ters, and very annoying by its ceaseless nocturnal clamour. Its
flesh is a wholesome and agreeable food (a). The female exudes
her ova in bundles in the marshes, &c.

R. temporaria, L. ; Rcesel. Ran. pi. i, ii, iii. (The Common
Frog). Reddish-brown spotted with black; a black band com-
mencing at the eye and reaching across the ear. This species is the
first that appears in the spring; it visits the land less frequently than
the preceding, and is not so noisy. Its Tadpole is not so large at
the epoch of its metamorphosis. The South of France produces a
Frog,

@5ir (n) At least for the French; hut these reptiles are never used for food in
England. — Eng. Ed.

r 2

68 REPTILES.

R. cultripes, Cuv., which is every where sprinkled with hkck spots;
feet amply palmate ; particularly remarkable for a horny and trench-
ant scale which invests the vestige of the sixth toe.

Among the Frogs foreign to Europe we may remark,

R. paradoxa, L. ; Seb. I, lxxviii; Merrian, Surin. LXXI ; Daud.,
Gren. XXII, XXIII, (The Jakie), whose Tadpole acquires a size
previous to its complete metamorphosis greater than that of any other
species of the genus. The loss of an enormous tail and of the en-
velopes of the body causes the adult animal to be of smaller dimen-
sions than the Tadpole, a circumstance which induced the earlier ob-
servers to believe that it was the Frog which was metamorphosed into
a Tadpole, or, as they expressed it, into a Fish. This error is now
completely refuted.

The Jakie is greenish, spotted with brown, and is particularly dis-
tinguished by irregular brown lines along its thighs and legs. From
Guiana.

There are several other Frogs foreign to Europe, some of which are very
large and very ill-determined*. Such is

R. pipiens, L. ; Catesb. II, lxxii. (The Bull-Frog). Green
above, yellowish beneath, spotted and marbled with blacky.

The hind toes of certain species are almost without a web, but still very
elongated J.

Ceratophris, Bote,

Are frogs with a large head; skin granulated, either wholly or in part; a
membranous prominence to each eye-lid resembling a horn§. In some

* A closer examination and a review of the numerous Batrachians received at the
Museum within a few years, compel me to recal my approbation of the work of
Daudin. It is imperfect, and half the figures are taken from altered specimens, and
can never serve as guides to the precise determination of species. His HyUe, how-
ever, must be excepted; they are much better than his Frogs and Toads.

f I am convinced that several species are confounded under this name in the
United States, species which are similar as to size and colour, but which, among
other characters, differ in the relative size of the tympanum. The one in which it is
the largest is the mugiens of Merrem, but we cannot depend upon his synonymes.
The fig. of Daud. XV III, with a yellow stripe along the back, is a species from India.
Add, R. palmipes, Spix, V, 1; — R. tigrina, Daud. XX; — R. virginica, Gmel. Seb. I,
lxxv, 4, or halecina, Daud., or pipiens, Merr., Catesb. LXX (a).

X Rana ocellaia, L., Seb. I, lxxv, 1, Lacep. I, xxxviii, Daud. XIX; — R. gigas, Spix,
I; — R. pachypus, Id. II. j — R. coriacea, Id. V, 2; — R. sibilatrix, Pr. Max.; — R. macu-
lata, Daud. XVII, 2; — R. rubella, lb. I; — R. typhonia, lb. 4, which is not, as Merrem
thinks, the virginica, Gm. ; — R. punctata, lb. XVI, 1 ;— R. mystacea, Spix, III, 2 — 3;
— R. militaris and R. pygmaa, Id. VI; — R. labyrinthica, Id. VII (b).

§ Ceratophris varius, B, or Rana cornuta, Seb. I, lxxii, 1, 2; — Tiles., Mag. de
Berl. 1809, 2nd Trim. pi. iii, and Krusenst. Voy. pi. vi, or Ceratophris dorsata, Pr.
Max. 2me livr.; — Cerat. Spixii, Cuv., or R. megastoma, Spix, IV, 1; — R. scutata,
lb. 2; — Cerat. Daudini, Cuv., Daud. xxxviii; — Cerat. clypeata, Cuv.

[g2p° (a) R. clamitans, Daud. XVI, is also cited as a species, but it is the young of
R. pipiens. — Eng. Ed.

0*5° (b) In the annals of the Lyceum, America, the following species are enume-
rated: — R.fontanalis, L. C; — R. palustris, Id.; — R. sylvatica, Id.; — R.pumila, Id.; —
R. gryllus, Id.; — R. nigrita, Id.: Ann. of the Lyceum. —Eng. Ed.

BATRACHIANS. 69

the tympanum is concealed under the skin*. They are all from South
America.

Southern Africa produces Batrachians resembling Frogs in their teeth
and smooth skin ; their toes are pointed, the hind ones broadly palmated,
and the extremities of the three internal ones enveloped in a black, conical,
horny nail; their head is small and their mouth moderate; the tongue, at-
tached to the lower part of the gullet, is oblong, fleshy, and very large ;
their tympanum is not visible. These numerous characters have induced
us to form a genus for them by the name of Dactylethraj.

Hyla, Laur. — Calamita, Schn. and Merr.

Tree-Frogs only differ from the true Frogs in the extremities of their
toes, each of which is expanded into a rounded viscous pellet, that enables
them to adhere to the surface of bodies and to climb trees, where in fact
they remain all the summer living upon insects. They spawn, however, in
water, and enter the mud in winter like other Frogs. There is a pouch
under the throat of the male, which dilates whenever he cries.

Rana arborea, L. ; Rces. Ran. pi. ix, x, xi. (The Common Tree-
Frog). Green above, pale beneath; a black and yellow line along
each side of the body. They are adult in four years, and couple to-
wards the end of April. The Tadpole completes its metamorphosis
in the month of August.

The Hyla? foreign to Europe are numerous, and some of them beauti-
ful. One of the largest and handsomest is

H. bicolor, Daud. VIII; and Spix, XIII. Sky-blue above, rose
colour beneath. From South America. A still larger species,

H. palmata, Daud. XX; Rana maxima, L., is transversely and
irregularly striped with red and fawn-colour. From North Ame-
rica J.

On account of the singular property attributed to it we may mention the
Rana tinctoria, L. (The Stained Tree Frog). It is said, that, if
some of the feathers of a Parrot be plucked out and the skin be im-
bued with the blood of this animal, it causes a reproduction of red
or yellow feathers, and forms that peculiar appearance which is termed

* Ceratophris granosa, Cuv., one of those Frogs with a concealed tympanum, of
which Gravenhorst has made his genus Stombus; but they have teeth like the others,
and should not lie approximated to the Toads, where Fitzinger has placed them.

f From the Greek word daktulethra (thimble): such is the form of their nails.
The Crapaud lisse, Daud. pi. xxx, f. 1, is a bad figure, the hind feet being altogether
wrong; it forms the Pi pa leevis, Merr. The Pi pa bufonia, Merr., or pretended male
Pipa, Enl. No. 21, f. 2, is also the same species, but drawn without nails. These spe-
cies of Merrem constitute the Engystoma of Fitzinger, but the true Engystomae or
the Breviceps, Merr., have neither teeth nor nails.

X Add, of palmated species, Hyl. venulosa, Daud. XIX, or Cal. loans, Merr., Seb.
1, lxxii; — H. tibicen, Seb. lb. 1, 2, 3; — II. marmorata, Seb. I, lxxi, 4, 5; Daud.
XVIII;— H. lateralis, Catesb. II, lxxi, Daud. 11;—//. bilineata, Daud. III;—//.
verrucosa; — //. oculala; — H. frontalis, Id., and in Spix; Hyl. bvfonia, XII; — //. geo-
grafica, XI, 1; — //. albomarginata, VIII, 2; — II. papillaris, 2;—//. partialis, 3; — //.
cinerascens, 4;—//. affinis, VII, 3.

i() REPTILES,

by the French tapire (a). We are assured it is a brown species,
with two whitish bands transversely united in two places (Daud. pi.
viii); the toes of the hind feet are almost free*.

Bufo, Laur.

Toads have a bulky body covered with warts or papilla? ; a thick lump
behind the ears pierced with pores, from which issues a milky and fetid
humour; no teeth whatever ; the hind feet but slightly elongated. They
leap badly, and generally avoid the water. They are hideous and dis-
gusting animals, whose bite, saliva, urine, and even perspiration, are con-
sidered, though erroneously, as poisonous.

Rana bufo, L. ; Rces. Ran. XX. (The Common Toad). Red-
dish-grey, or grey brown; sometimes olive or blackish; the back
covered with rounded tubercles as large as lentils; smaller and more
closely set tubercles 'on the belly; the hind feet semi-palmate. It
remains in dark places, and passes the winter in a hole which it ex-
cavates. It couples in the water in March and April ; when this
takes place on shore, the female drags herself to some ditch, &c,
carrying the male with her : she produces innumerable small ova,
united by a transparent kind of jelly in two strings, that are often
twenty or thirty feet long, in the extraction of which the male assists
with his hind feet. The Tadpole is blackish, and is the smallest of
the European species, at the period when it acquires legs and loses
its tail. The Common Toad lives upwards of fifteen years, and
has young at four. Its cry has some resemblance to the barking of
a dog.

R. bufo calamita, Gm. ; Roes. XXIV; Daud. XXVII, 1. (The
Bush Frog). Olive-colour; tubercles, as in the preceding; but not
such large swellings behind the ears; a yellow longitudinal line on
the spine, and a dentated reddish one on the flank: no membrane to
the hind feet. It diffuses a disagreeable odour, like that of gun-
powder, lives on land, and never leaps, but runs tolerably fast;
climbs up walls, to seek a shelter in their crevices, and for that pur-
pose has two little osseous tubercles under the palm of the hands.
It never visits the water except to couple, in the month of June;
the female lays two strings of eggs, like the Common Toad; the
voice of the male, which has also a sac under the throat, resembles
that of the Stained Tree Frog.

Bufo fuscus, Laurent. ; Rana bomb/na, y, Gm. ; Rces. XVII,
XVIII. (The Natter-Jack). Light brown, marbled with dark

* Add, of species whose hind toes are but slightly palmate, II. femoralis, Daud.
IV; — H. squirella, Daud. V; — H. Irivittata, &c, Spix, IX;— i!7. abbreviata, Id. XI,
4; — H. delltesccns. L. C, and H. versicolor, Id. loc. cit.

The Hyla cyanea, Daud., of New Holland, according to White, p. 24S, has but
four toes behind; and M. Fitzinger, who appears to have seen it, has consequently
formed it into his genus Calamita. We have one from the same country, and ex-
actly similar, which certainly has five.

}ggr («) And hence its French name, Ruinctle a tapirer.

BATRAC1IIANS. 71

brown or blackish; tubercles on the back but few, and the size of
lentils ; the belly smooth ; toes of the hind feet elongated, and com-
pletely palmate; it leaps well, prefers the vicinity of water, and
diffuses a strong odour of garlic when disturbed. The ova form but
one string, thicker however than both those of the Common Toad.
The Tadpole is longer in coming to maturity than any other French
species ; and, when very large, is still found with its tail, and the
fore-feet, not developed — when it does complete its metamorphosis,
it actually seems to shrink. It is eaten in some places as if it were
a fish.

Ran. variabilis, Gm. ; Crapaud vert, Lacep. ; Pall. Spicil. VII,
vi, 34; Daud. xxviii, 2. (The Variable Frog). Almost smooth;
whitish, with deep green spots ; remarkable for the changes in the
hue of the skin, according to the light in which it is placed, or as it
wakes or sleeps.

Bufo obstetricans, Laur. ; Le Crap, accoucheur, Daud. pi. xxxii,
f. 1. (The Midwife Frog). Small; grey above; whitish beneath ;
blackish points on the back, and whitish ones on the sides. The
male assists his female in the expulsion of the eggs, which are large,
and fastens them on his thighs, in bundles, by means of some glu-
tinous threads. He carries them about with him until the eyes of
the Tadpoles they contain can be distinguished through their enve-
lope, and, in fact, until the time when they are about to be hatched;
he then seeks some stagnant water, in which he deposits them.
The eggs immediately split, and the Tadpoles swim out. It is very
small, and is carnivorous. Very common in stony places near
Paris *.

Sicily produces a Toad three or four times larger than those of
France, that is brown, with flat and irregular tubercles. It is gene-
rally found in the tuft of a palm. We will call it Bufo palmarum —
the Palm Frog.

The Toads, foreign to Europe, have hitherto been badly determined;
several are remarkable for their size.

Rana marina, Gm. ; Le Crapaud agua; Daud. XXVII; Spix,
XV. Brown, varied with dark brown; unequal and slightly salient
tubercles ; the triangular parotids more than an inch wide in indivi-
duals, which are from ten to twelve inches long, exclusive of the
feet. Found in the marshy districts of South America^.
Several subgenera have been lately separated from that of the Toads ;
thus, the

* It is impossible to say why Merrem placed the obstetricans among his Bombina-
tores — its tympanum is very visible.

f Add, Bufo maculiventris, Spix, XV, should it prove to diiferfrom the agua; — B.
ietericus, Id. XVI, 1; — B. lazarus, Id. xvii, 1; — B. sttUatus, Id. XVIII, 1; — B. sca-
ber, Daud. XXXI V, which is not the same as the B. scaber of Spix, X, 1; — B. bcn-
galensis, Id. xxxv, 1; — B. musicus, Id. XXXIII, 2; — B. cinctus, Pr. Max. fasc. 3:
the B. agua, Id. fasc. 7, does not appear to be the same as that of Spix.

72 REPTILES.

BOMBINATOR, Merr.,

Only differs from the others in the tympanum being concealed under the

skin ; such in France is the

Rana bonibina, Gra.; Crapaud a ventre jaune; Rces. XXII;
Daud. XXVI. The smallest and most aquatic of all the Toads of
that country. It is greyish or brown above; a black-blue with
orange spots beneath ; the hind feet completely palmate and almost
as long as those of Frogs, so that it leaps nearly as well. It lives in
marshes, and couples in June ; the eggs are produced in little balls,
and are larger than those of the preceding species*. The

Rhinellus, Fitzing. — Oxyrynchus, Spix,
Has a muzzle pointed anteriorly f. We should approximate to it the

Otilophis, Cuv.

In which the muzzle is also angular, and where there is a crest on each
side of the head which extends over the parotid. The Crapaud perle,
(Ban. margaritifera, Gm.) Daud. XXXIII, is its type.

Breviceps, Merr. — Engystoma, Fitzing. part of.

Toads without a visible tympanum or parotid, in which the body is oval,
bead and mouth very small, and the feet but slightly palmated J.

A more essential difference is that which has separated the Pips of
Laurenti from all the great genus Rana.

Pipa, Laur.

This subdivision is distinguished by a horizontally flattened body; a
broad and triangular head; by the absence of a tongue; by a tympanum
concealed under the skin; by small eyes placed near the edge of the
upper jaw; by anterior toes, each of which is divided at the extremity
into four small points ; and, finally, by the enormous larynx of the male,
formed like a triangular osseous box, inside of which are two moveable
bones, which can be made to close the entrance to the branchiae §.

* Add, Bufo ventricosus, Daud. XXX, 2, the turgidity of which is exaggerated.

f Bufo proboscideus, Spix, XXI, 4; — the neighbouring species figured on the same
plate, B. semilinealus, B. granulosus, B. aculirostris, and those of pi. xiv, naricus and
nasulus, connect this subgenus too closely with the common Toads to be easily re-
tained.

% Engystoma dorsatum, Cuv., or Bufo gibbosus, Auct. Seb. II, xxxvii, No. 3, Daud.
XXIX, 2; — Eng. marmoratum ; Eng. granosum. Cuv.: new species, one from India,
the other from the Cape. The mouth of the Eng. surinamense, Daud. XXXIII, 2,
is already larger, as well as in the B. globulosus and albifrons, Spix, XIX. N.B. The
Eng. ovalis, Fitz., is a Dactylethra ; his Eng. ventricosa, Daud. XXX, 2, is a Bumbi-
nator.

N. B. The Bufo epkippium, Spix, XX, 2, of which Fitzinger makes his genus Bra-
chycephalus, on account of there being but three toes to all the feet, may be a
young specimen badly preserved or incorrectly figured.

§ Described by Schneider under the name of Cista sternalis.

BATRACHIANS. 73

The species formerly known, Rana pipa, L. ; Seb. I, lxxvii;
Daud. xxxi, xxxii, is found at Cayenne and Surinam, in dark places
about the houses. Its back is granulated, with three longitudinal
ranges of larger granules. When the ova are expelled, the male
places them on the back of the female, and there fecundates them;
the latter then proceeds to the water, the skin of her back swells
and forms cells, in which the eggs are hatched. The life of the Tad-
pole is passed in the water, and it does not leave it until it has lost
its tail, and acquired feet. It is at this time also that the mother re-
turns to land.

Spix figures one of them pi. xxii, at least a closely allied spe-
cies, — Pipa curururu, Spix, — from the bottom of the Brazilian
lakes, and asserts that the female does not carry her young; he
does not inform us, however, that he observed her during the whole
year*.

Salamandra, Brongn.

The Salamanders have an elongated body, four feet and a long tail,
which give them the general form of Lizards, so that Linnseus left them
in that genus: but they have all the characters of Batrachians.

Their head is flattened ; the ear completely hidden under the muscles,
without any tympanum, having nothing but a small cartilaginous plate on
the fenestra ovalis ; the two jaws furnished with numerous and small teeth ;
two longitudinal rows of similar teeth in the palate, but attached to bones
analogous to the vomer; the tongue as in the Frogs; no third eye-lid; a
skeleton with very small rudiments of ribs, but without a bony sternum; a
pelvis suspended from the spine by ligaments ; four toes before, and almost
always five behind. In their adult state, respiration is performed as in
Frogs and Tortoises. Their Tadpoles at first breathe by means of bran-
chiae resembling tufts, three on each side of the neck, which are sub-
sequently obliterated; they are suspended to cartilaginous arches, vestiges
of which remain in the hyoid bone of the adult. A membranous oper-
culum covers these openings, but the tufts are never enclosed by a tunic,
and always float externally. The fore feet are developed before the hind
ones; and the toes in both feet appear successively.

Salamandra, Laur.

The Terrestrial Salamanders have in their perfect state the round tail ;
they inhabit the water only during their tadpole condition, which is but a
short period, or when the female is ready to bring forth. The eggs are
hatched in the oviduct.

The terrestrial species of France have a gland analogous to that
of the Toad, on each side of the occiput.

Salam. maculosa, Laur.; Lac. II, pi. xxx; Lacert. salamandra,
L. (The common Salamander.) Black, with large spots of a bright
yellow ; rows of tubercles on the sides, from which, when the animal

* There is a true Pipa in the King's Cabinet, from Rio Negro, which is entirely
smooth, and with an unusually narrow head. It will be my Pipa la-vis, very differ-
ent from that of Me-rrem, which is a Dactylethra.

74 REPTILES.

is agitated by fear, oozes a milky, bitter liquid, that has a strong odour,
and is poisonous to very weak animals. It is, perhaps, this circum-
stance which has given rise to the fable of the incombustibility of
the Salamander. It lives in wet places and hides itself in holes,
feeds on lumbrici, insects and earth, brings forth its young living,
and deposits them in pools ; at first they have branchiae, and their
tail is vertically compressed*.

A Salamander resembling the common one, but entirely black and
entirely without spots, is found in the Alps, it is the Sal. atra (the
black Salamander), Laurent, pi. 1, f. 2.

Sal. perspicillata, Savi. (The spectacled Salamander). Only
four toes to all the feet; black above; yellow, spotted with black be-
neath: a yellow line across the eyes. A small species from the
Appennines'j-.

North America, which produces many more Salamanders than Europe,
has several that are terrestrial, with a round tail, but deficient in the glands
on the occiput^.

Triton, Lavrenti.

The aquatic Salamanders always retain the vertically compressed tail,
and pass nearly the whole of their existence in the water. The experi-
ments of Spallanzani on their astonishing power of reproduction, have ren-
dered them celebrated. If a limb be amputated, another is reproduced in
its stead with all its bones, muscles, vessels, &c. and this takes place se-
veral times in succession. Another not less singular faculty, discovered by
Dufay, is the power they possess of remaining enclosed in ice for a con-
siderable time without perishing.

Their eggs are fecundated by the seminal fluid diffused in the water, and
both enter the oviduct together; they are expelled in long chaplets; the
young are not hatched until the fifteenth day, and retain their branchiae for
a longer or shorter time according to the species. Modern observers have
recognized several of them in France, but as the colour of these animals
changes according to the age, sex, and season of the year, and as the crests
and other ornaments of the males are only well developed in the spring,
the species have not been determined with certainty. When winter sur-
prises them with their branchiae, they retain them till the following year,
always increasing in size§.

* See Ad. Fred. Funck. de Salam. terrcst. vita, evolutione, formatione, Berlin, fol.
1827.

t We have ascertained that the Sal. a trois doigts, Lacep. II, pi. 36, is merely a
dried and somewhat mutilated specimen of the Sal. perspicillata. Add, S. Savi, Gosse.

X Sal. venenosa, Daud., or subviolacea, Barton; — Sal. fasciata, Green; — Sal. tigrina,
Id.; — Sal. erythronota, Id.; — Sal. bilineata, Id.; — Sal. rubra, Daud. VIII, pi. 91,
f. 2; — S. variolata, Gilliam. Sc. Nat. Phil., 1, pi. xviii, f. 1, and several new species.
The Sal. japonica, Hourtuin, Bechst. trans, of Lacep., II, pi. 18, f. 1, is closely allied
to the erythronota.

§ It was from an individual which had thus retained its branchire that Laurenti
made bis Proteus iritonius.

BATHACHIANS. 75

S. marmorata, Latr. ; Triton Gesneri, Laur. (The Marbled Sa-
lamander). Skin granulated; pale green above, with large irregular
brown spots ; brown, dotted with white, beneath ; a red line along the
back, which, in the male, is slightly crested and marked with black
spots. But slightly aquatic.

S. alpestris; Salam. a jlancs taclietes, Bechst. tr. Lac. pi. xx.
(The Flank Spotted Salamander). Skin granulated; slate coloured
and brown above; orange or red belly; a band of numerous small
black spots on each flank.

S. cristata, Latr. (The Crested Salamander). Skin granulated;
brown above, with round blackish spots ; orange beneath, similarly
spotted; sides dotted with white; crest of the male elevated, acutely
denticulate, and in the nuptial season edged with violet.

S. punctata, Latr. (The Pointed Salamander). Skin smooth;
a light brown above ; pale or red beneath ; round black spots every
where; black streaks on the head; crest of the male festooned; the
toes somewhat widened, but not palmate.

S. palmata, Latr. (The Web-footed Salamander). Back, brown;
top of the head vermiculated with brown and blackish ; paler on the
flanks, with round blackish spots; belly without spots. The male
has three small dorsal crests ; toes dilated and united by membranes,
and the tail terminated by a small filament*.

Several aquatic Salamanders are also found in North America-j\
Skeletons of a Salamander three feet in length have been discovered

among the schist of CEningen. One of them is the pretended Fossil Man

of Scheuchzer.

Immediately after the Salamanders come several very similar animals,
some of which are considered as never having had branchiae, that is, they
probably lose them at as early a period as our terrestrial Salamanders ; the
others, on the contrary, retain them for life, a circumstance which by no
means prevents their having lungs like the Batrachians, so that they may
be considered as the only vertebrate animals which are truly amphibious J.

* The characters of the European species appear to me to be such as are most con-
formable to nature; to add the synonymes of authors would be a difficult task, so
little do their figures and descriptions agree with the animals before me.

f Sal. symmetrica, Harl. which appears to me previously represented in Bechstein's
I.acep. II. pi. xviii, f. 2, under the name of Sal. punctata, and several species whose
descriptions I could not recognize, and which richly merit a monograph, accompanied
by good figures.

+ The simultaneous existence and action of the branchial tufts and of the lungs
in these animals, are as incontestable as any one of the most certain facts in natural
history; there are now before me the lungs of a Siren three feet long, in which the
vascular apparatus is as well developed and as complex as in any reptile whatever,
notwithstanding which, the branchiae of this same animal were as complete as those
of others.

76 REPTILES.

The former (those in which no branchiae are visible) constitute two
genera.

Menopoma, Harlan*.

Form of a Salamander ; eyes apparent, the feet well developed, and an
orifice on each side of the neck. Besides the range of small maxillary
teeth, there is a parallel row of them on the front of the palate. Such is
the reptile termed

Sal. gigantea, Barton; Great Salamander of North America;
Ann. of the New York Lye. I, pi. 17. (The Hellbender of the
United States). From fifteen to eighteen inches long; a blackish
blue ; inhabits the great lakes and the rivers of the interior.

Amphiuma, Garden.

Have an orifice on each side of the neck, but their body excessively
elongated; the legs and feet, on the contrary, but very slightly developed;
the palatine teeth form two longitudinal ranges.

In one species there are but three toes to each foot ; Amph. tri-
dactylum, Cuv. ; and in another, Amph. means, Gard. and Harl. but
two— Mem. du Mus. XIV, pi. If.

Among those which always retain their branchiae, the

AXOLOTUS.

The Axolots in every respect are similar to the larvae of an aquatic Sa-
lamander, having four toes before, five behind, three long tufted bran-
chiae, &c. The maxillary teeth are like velvet, and those on the vo-
mer in two bands. Such is the

Siren pisc/formis, Shaw; the Axolotl of the Mexicans; Gen.
Zool. vol. III., part ii. pi. 140; Humb. Zool. Obs. I, pi. 12.
From eight to ten inches long; grey, spotted with black. It inha-
bits the lake that surrounds MexicoJ.

Menobuanchus, Harlan. — Necturtjs, Raffin.

Have but four toes to all the feet; a range of teeth in the intermaxillaries,
and another, parallel, but more extended, in the maxillaries.

* Dr. Harlan first called them Abranchus; Leukard and Fitzinger called them
Cryptobranchus, and others Protonopsis.

f The Amphiuma was known to Linnaeus, but at too late a period to allow him to
insert it in any of the editions of his system which appeared (luring his life. It has
been described since by Dr. Mitchell, under the name of Chrysodonta larverformis, and
by Dr. Harlan under that of Amphiuma. I have described the Amph. tridactylum of
Louisiana, which attains the length of three feet. See Mem. du Mus. tome XIV, 1.
I suspect this is the species spoken of by Barton in his letter upon the Siren, as a
Siren with four feet.

X It is with some hesitation that I place the Axolotl among the genera with per-
manent branchiae, but so many witnesses assure us that it does not lose them that I
am compelled to do so.

BATRACH1ANS. 77

The species most known, Menohranchus lateralis, Harl. ; Triton
lateralis, Say; Ann. of the New York Lye. I, pi. xvi, inhabits the
great lakes of North America, attaining, as it is said, the length of
two and three feet. It was first obtained from Lake Champlain.

Proteus, Laurent. — Hypociiton, Merr.

But three toes before and only two behind.

Hitherto but a single species has been discovered, Proteus anxjui-
nus, Laur. pi. IV. f. 3 ; Daud. VIII. xcix. 1 ; Siren anguina,
Schn. More than a foot long, about the thickness of a finger, with
a vertically compressed tail and four small legs. Its muzzle is elon-
gated and depressed; its two jaws furnished with teeth; its tongue
but slightly moveable and free before ; its eyes extremely small and
hidden by the skin, like those of the Zemni (Mus typhus, Pall.);
the ear covered by the muscles as in the Salamanders, and the skin
smooth and whitish. It is only found in some subterraneous streams,
by which certain lakes in Carniola communicate with each other.
The skeleton resembles that of the Salamander, except that it has
many more vertebra?, and fewer rudiments of ribs ; the bony head,
however, differs altogether in its general conformation.

Finally, there are some which are possessed of fore feet only, the hind
ones being entirely deficient. They are

Siren, Linn.

The Sirens are elongated animals, almost of the form of eels, with three
branchial tufts ; they have no hind feet, nor is there even a vestige of a
pelvis. Their head is depressed, the opening of their mouth small, their
muzzle obtuse, eye very small and ear concealed; the lower jaw is armed
with teeth all round, and there are none in the upper one, but there are
several rows of them adhering to two plates fixed under each side of the
palate*.

S. lacertina, L. (The Lizard Siren). Blackish, and attains the
length of three feet ; four toes to each foot ; tail compressed into an
obtuse fin. It inhabits the marshes of Carolina, the rice swamps
particularly, where it lives in the mud, occasionally going on shore
or into the water. It feeds on lumbrici, insects, &c."j\ There are
two much smaller species,

S. intermedia, Le Conte, Ann. New York Lye, II. Dec. 182G,

* It is in vain that some authors have recently endeavoured to revive the antient
idea, that the Siren is the tadpole of the Salamander. We possess specimens of
them much larger than any known Salamander, whose bones have acquired their
perfect hardness without the smallest vestige of hind feet; their osteology also
differs widely from that of the Salamanders; they have more and differently shaped
vertebra; (90), and fewer ribs (eight pairs); the conformation of the head, and the
connexion of the bones which compose it, are altogether different. See Oss. foss.
tome v. part ii.

t Barton denies that it feeds on serpents, and that its voice resembles that of a
young duck, as affirmed by Garden. Barton, " Some account of S. Lacert. &c."

78 REPTILES.

pi. 1. Blackish; four toes like the large one, but the branchial
tufts are less fringed ; its length does not exceed one foot.

S. striata, Le Conte, lb. I, pi. 4. Blackish; two longitudinal
yellow streaks on each side ; only three toes ; the branchial tufts
but slightly fringed; length nine inches*.

* The branchiae of these two species have been considered as taking no part in the
process of respiration, in consequence of which M. Gray has formed a genus for them,
which he calls Pseudobranchus; it is easy, however, on their inferior surface, to
see folds and a vascular apparatus, whose use is, to us, very plain ; besides this, the
observations of Major Le Conte demonstrate the fact, that these sirens, like the li-
zard sirens, are perfect animals.

CLASS IV.— OF VERTEBRATA.

FISHES.

THE class of Fishes is composed of oviparous vertebrata with a double
circulation, but in which respiration is altogether effected through the me-
dium of water. For this purpose, on each side of the neck, they have an
apparatus called branchiae, which consist of laminae suspended on arches
that are attached to the hyoid bone, each composed of numerous laminae
placed in a row, and covered with a tissue of innumerable blood-vessels.
The water which the fish swallows, penetrates between these lamina?,
through the openings, called gills, and, by means of the air it contains,
acts upon the blood that is continually sent to the branchiae from the
heart, which only represents the right auricle and ventricle of warm-
blooded animals.

This blood, having undergone respiration, is poured into an arterial
trunk situated under the spine, which, exercising the functions of a left
ventricle, distributes it to every part of the body, whence it returns to the
heart by the veins.

The entire structure of the Fish is as evidently adapted for swimming
as that of the Bird for flight. Suspended in a liquid of nearly the same
specific gravity as its own body, there was no necessity for large wings to
support it. In a great number of species, immediately under the spine,
there is a bladder filled with air, which, by compression or dilatation, va-
ries the specific gravity of the fish, and assists it to rise or descend. Pro-
gression is effected by the motions of the tail, which, by striking the
water alternately right and left, forces them forward; the branchiae, by
impelling the water backwards, may also contribute to this effect. The
limbs being thus of but little use, are greatly reduced; the parts analo-
gous to the bones of the arms and legs are extremely short, or even com-
pletely concealed; rays, more or less numerous, which support membra-
nous fins, form a rude representation of the fingers and toes. The fins
which correspond to the anterior extremities are termed pectoral, and
those which answer to the posterior ones, ventral. Other rays attached
to particular bones placed on or between the extremities of the spinous
apophyses support vertical fins on the back, under the tail, and at its ex-
tremity, which, by being raised or lowered, increase or diminish the sur-
face that strikes against the water. The superior fins are called dorsal,

80 FISHES.

the inferior anal, and the fin at the end of the tail caudal. The rays are
of two kinds; the one consists of a single bony piece, usually hard and
pointed, sometimes flexible and elastic, divided longitudinally — these are
called spinous rays ; the others are composed of a great number of small
articulations, and are generally divided into branches at their extremity —
they are the soft, articulated, or branched rays.

There is as much variety among Fishes, with respect to the number
of limbs, as among Reptiles. Most generally there are four; some have
but two, and in others they are totally wanting. The bone which is ana-
logous to the scapula, is sometimes held among the muscles as in the
higher animals, and at another time it is attached to the spine, but most
commonly it is suspended on the cranium. The pelvis rarely adheres to
the spine, and very frequently, instead of being behind the abdomen, is
before it, and connected with the humeral apparatus.

The vertebrae of Fishes are united by concave surfaces filled with car-
tilage, which most generally communicate by a canal excavated in the axis
of the vertebra 3 . In most of them there are long spinous processes which
maintain the vertical form of the body. The ribs are frequently soldered
to the transverse processes.

The head of Fishes varies more as to form than that of any other class,
notwithstanding which it almost always consists of the same number of
bones as is found in other oviparous animals. The frontal bone is com-
posed of six pieces ; the parietal of three ; the occipital of five ; five pieces
of the sphenoid, and two of each temporal bone, remain in the composition
of the cranium.

Besides the usual parts of the brain which are arranged as in reptiles
in a row, fishes have also knots or ganglions at the base of their olfactory
nerves.

Their nostrils are simple cavities at the end of the muzzle, almost always
perforated by two holes, and regularly lined by a plaited pituitary mem-
brane.

The cornea of their eye is very flat, and there is but little of the aqueous
humour ; the chrystalline lens, however, is very hard, and almost globular.

Their ear consists of a sac representing the vestibule, in which are sus-
pended small bodies most commonly of a stony hardness, and of three
membranous semi-circular canals, situated in the cavity of the cranium
rather than in the substance of its parietes, the Chondropterygii excepted,
in which they are entirely contained in them. The eustachian tube and
tympanal bones are always deficient, and the Selachians alone have a fe-
nestra ovalis, which is level with the head.

The sense of taste in fishes can have but little energy, as a great por-

FISHES, 81

tion of the tongue is osseous, and frequently furnished with teeth and other
hard parts.

The body in most of them is covered with scales, and none possess or-
gans of prehension ; the fleshy cirri of some may supply the imperfection
of the other organs of touch.

In the greater number, the intermaxillary bone forms the edge of the
upper jaw, having behind it the maxillary, termed the labial bone {mystace).
A palatine arch, composed of the palatine bones, of the two pterygoid
processes, the zygomatic process, the tympanum and squamous portion,
forms, as in Birds and Serpents, a sort of interior jaw, and furnishes be-
hind an articulation for the lower jaw, which generally has two bones on
each side ; the number of these pieces, however, is reduced in the Chon-
dropterygii.

Teeth are found in their intermaxillary, maxillary, and lower jaws, in
the vomer, the bones of the palate, on the tongue, on the arches of the
branchiae, and even on the bones situated behind these arches, attached
like them to the hyoides, and called pharyngeal bones.

The varieties of these combinations, as well as those of the form of the
teeth placed at each point, are innumerable.

Besides the apparatus of the branchial arches, the hyoid bone is fur-
nished on each side with rays which support the branchial membrane. A
sort of lid, composed of three bony pieces, the operculum, the subopercu-
lum, and the interoperculum, unites with this membrane in closing the
great opening of the gills; it is articulated with the tympanal bone, and
plays on one called the preoperculum. In many of the Chondropterygii
this apparatus is wanting.

The stomach and intestines differ in size, figure, thickness, and convo-
lutions, as greatly as in the other classes. The pancreas, except in the
Chondropterygii, is replaced either by casca of a peculiar tissue situated
round the pylorus, or by the tissue itself applied to the origin of the in-
testine.

The kidneys are situated along the sides of the spine, but the bladder
is above the rectum, and opens behind the anus and behind the orifice of
generation; exactly the inverse of what we find in the Mammalia.

The testes are two enormous glands commonly termed milts; and the
ovaries, or roe, two sacs about the same form and size, in whose internal
folds are deposited the eggs. Some of the ordinary fishes copulate and
are viviparous ; the young fry are hatched in the ovary and issue through a
very short canal. The Selachians alone, besides the ovary, have long
oviducts which frequently open into a true uterus, and they produce either
living ones or eggs enveloped with a horny substance. In most Fishes,
however, copulation does not take place ; when the female has laid, the male

VOL. II. G

82 FISHES.

passes over the egg, diffusing the 6ecretion from the milts, and fecun-
dating the eggs (a).

Of all the classes of animals, that of fishes is the most difficult to sub-
divide into orders from fixed and sensible characters. After many at-
tempts I have decided upon adopting the following arrangement, which,
though it militates in some instances against precision, does not separate
natural families.

Fishes form two distinct series, that of Fishes, properly so called, and
that of tbe Chondropterygii, otherwise called Cartilaginous Fishes.

The general character of the latter consists in the absence of the bones

ggp° {a) In the great work on Icthyology, by Cuvier, now in the course of publi-
cation, he dwells at much greater length on the general characters of the Fishes.
The following passage, which we translate from that work, will be read with much
interest: —

" Being aquatic, that is to say, living in a liquid which is heavier, and offers
greater resistance than air, their power of motion has been necessarily disposed and
calculated for progression as well as for elevation, which is also accomplished by them
with ease. Hence arises that form of body which offers least resistance, the chief
seat of muscular force residing in the tail, the shortness and expansibility of their
limbs, the membranes which support them, the smooth or scaly teguments, and the
total absence of hairs or feathers. Breathing only through the medium of water, that
is, for the purpose of giving an arterial nature to their blood, profiting by the small
quantity of oxygen contained in the air, which is mingled with the water, their blood
is necessarily cold, and their vitality, the energy of their senses and movements, are
consequently less than in Mammalia and Birds. Their brain, therefore, or rather a
composition similar to it, is proportionably much smaller, and the external organs of
their senses are not of a nature to admit of powerful impressions. Fishes, in fact,
are, of all vertebrated animals, those which have the least apparent signs of sensibi-
lity. Having no elastic air at their disposal, they remain mute, or nearly so, and all
those sensations awakened or sustained by the voice remain unknown to them.
Their eyes almost immoveable, their bony and rigid countenance, their limbs de-
prived of the power of inflexion, and every part moving at the same time, deprive
them of the faculty of varying their physiognomy, or expressing their emotions.
Their ear, inclosed on every side by the bones of the skull, without external conch
or internal labyrynth, and composed only of a sac and membranous canals, scarcely
allows them to distinguish the most striking sounds; and, in fact, an exquisite sense
of hearing would be of very little use to those destined to live in the empire of silence,
and around whom all are mute. Their sight, in the depths of their abode, would be
little exercised, if the greater number of the species had not, by the size of their
eyes, been enabled to supply the deficiency of light; but, even in these species, the
eye scarcely changes its direction; still less can it change its dimensions, and accom-
modate itself to the distance of objects; its iris neither dilates nor contracts, and its
pupil remains the same in every degree of light. No tear bathes this eye, no eyelid
soothes or protects it; and, in this class, it must be regarded as only a feeble repre-
sentation of that beautiful, brilliant, and animated organ of the higher classes of
animals. Procuring food by swimming after a prey which itself swims with greater
or less rapidity, having no means of seizing this prey but by swallowing it, a delicate
sense of taste would have been useless to fishes had nature bestowed it on them. But
their tongue, almost immoveable, often bony, or armed with dentated plates, and
only receiving a few slender nerves, demonstrates that this organ is as little sensible
as it is little necessary. Smell even cannot be as continually exercised by fishes as
by animals which breathe air in a direct manner, and whose nostrils are unceasingly
traversed by odoriferous vapours. Lastly, we come to the touch, which, on account
of the surface of their bodies being encircled by scales, by the inflexibility of the rays
of their limbs, and by the dryness of the membranes enveloping them, has been
obliged as it were to seek refuge at the end of their lips; and even these, in some
species, are reduced to a dry and insensible hardness." — Eng. Ed.

FISHES. 83

of the upper jaw, whose place is supplied hy those of the palate : their
whole structure also exhibits evident analogies which we will describe : it
is divided into three orders.

The Cyclostomi, whose jaws are soldered in an immoveable ring, with
branchiae containing numerous openings.

The Selachii, which have the branchiae of the Cyclostomi, but not
their jaws.

The Sturiones, whose branchiae are opened by the usual fissure fur-
nished with an operculum.

The other series, or that of the Ordinary Fishes, presents a primary
division in those where the maxillary bone and the palatine arch are fixed
to the cranium: they constitute an order which 1 call that of the Plec-
tognathi, and are divided into two families: the Gymnodontes and the
Sclerodermi.

I next find fishes with perfect jaws, but whose branchiae, instead of
being pectiniform, as is the case in all the others, resemble a series of
small tufts; they also constitute an order which I call Lophobranchii,
that comprises but a single family.

There then remains an immense number of fishes, to which no other
characters can be applied than those of the external organs of motion.
After an extensive research, I have found that the least objectionable of
these characters is the one employed by Ray and Artedi, drawn from the
nature of the first rays of the dorsal and anal fins. Thus the ordinary
fishes are divided into Malacopterygii, in which all the rays are soft,
with the occasional exception of the first of the dorsal or of the pectorals;
and into Acanthopterygii, in which the first portion of the dorsal, or of
the first dorsal where there are two, is always supported by spinous rays,
and in which some of the same are always found in the anal fin, and at
least one in each of the ventral ones.

The first may be conveniently divided by a reference to the position of
their ventral fins, which are sometimes situated behind the abdomen,
sometimes suspended to the apparatus of the shoulder, or are totally
wanting.

We thus arrive at the three orders of the Malacopterygii abdomi-
nales, the Subbrachiati and the Apodes, each of which comprises
certain natural families to be described. The first is particularly nu-
merous.

It is impossible, however, to apply this mode of division to the Acan-
thopterygii; and their subdivision in any other way than by that of
natural families is a problem that I have hitherto vainly endeavoured to
solve. Fortunately, many of these families are possessed of characters
nearly as exact as those which could be given to true orders.

84 FISHES.

It is, besides, impossible to assign to the families of fishes the same
marked gradation that is visible among those of the Mammalia. Thus,
the Chondropterygians are connected with Serpents on the one hand by
the organs of the senses, and some of them even by those of generation ;
while the imperfection of the skeleton in others allies them to the Mol-
lusca and Worms.

As to the Ordinary Fishes, if any one system is found more developed
in some than in others, it is not sufficiently pre-eminent, nor does it exer-
cise a sufficient influence over the whole to compel us to pay any regard
to it in a methodical arrangement.

We will successively treat of these two series, commencing with the
most numerous, that of Ordinary Fishes, and placing at its head the order
richest in genera and species.

ORDER I.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS.

The Acanthopterygians form the first and by far the most numerous di-
vision of Ordinary Fishes. They are recognized by the spines which
occupy the place of the first rays of their dorsal, or which alone support
the first fin of the back, where there are two ; sometimes, instead of a
first dorsal, there are only a few free spines. The first rays of their anal
are also spines, and there is generally one to each ventral.

The relations between the Acanthopterygii are so multiplied, and their
different natural families present so much variety in the apparent cha-
racters which we might suppose would indicate orders or other subdivi-
sions, that it has been found impossible to divide them otherwise than by
these same natural families, which we are compelled to leave together.

FAMILY I.

THE PERCH TRIBE.— PERCOIDES*.

This family, thus called because its type is the Common Perch, com-
prehends fishes with oblong bodies, covered with scales that are gene-

* In my first edition this family also comprehended the Bucca Loricatcv, the
Scieno'ides, and the Sparoiies. It was necessary to detach these three new familii s

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 85

rally hard or rough, and whose operculum or preoperculum, and fre-
quently both, have dentated or spinous edges, and whose jaws, the fore-
part of the vomer, and almost always the palatine bones, are furnished
with teeth.

The species are extremely numerous, particularly in the seas of hot
climates ; their flesh is generally wholesome and agreeable.

In a vast proportion of these Perches, the ventral fins are inserted
under the pectorals: they form a first division, which may be called Per-
coides Thoracici, or Thoracic Perches.

They were nearly all comprised by Linnaaus in his genus Perca, but
we have been compelled to divide them as follows, from the number of
the branchial rays, that of the dorsal fin, and the nature of the teeth.

The first subdivision has seven rays in the branchiae, two fins on the
back, and all the teeth small and dense as the pile on velvet.

Perca, Cuv.

The true Perches have the preoperculum dentated: the bony opercu-
lum terminated by two or three sharp points and a smooth tongue. Some-
times the sub-orbital and the humeral are slightly dentated.

P. fluvialis, L. ; Bl. 52. (The Common Perch). Greenish;
broad, vertical, blackish bands; ventral and anal fins red; one of the
most beautiful and best of the European fresh-water fishes. It in-
habits pure and running streams ; its eggs are united by a viscid
matter into long strings, which form a kind of net-work.

North America produces several neighbouring species*.

Labrax, Cuv.

The Bars are distinguished from the Perches by scaly opercula termi-
nating in two spines, and by a rough tongue.

L. lupus, Cuv. ; Perca labrax, L. ; Sc. diacantha, Bloch, 305 ;
Bars Commun ; Spigola of the Italians; Cuv. and Val. II, xi.
(The Basse Perch). A large fish found on the coast of Europe ; it
is highly flavoured, and of a silvery hue. It is particularly common
in the Mediterranean, and is the Lupus of the Romans, and the
Labrax of the Greeks. The young ones are usually spotted with
brown.

The United States produce a large and beautiful species, Lahr.
lineatus, Cuv., Selena lineata, Bloch, 304, and Perca saxatilis]

from it, and I think I have been fortunate enough to discover sufficient characters
for that purpose.

* Pern, flavescens, Cuv. and Val. II, p. 46; — P. serrato-gramdata, lb. 47;— P. gra*
nulata, lb. 48, and pi. ix; — P. acuta, lb. 49, and pi. x; — P. gracilis, lb. 50.

Add, P. Plumieri, or Scitena Plumieri, Bl. 306, or Centropome Plumier and Cltcilo-
diplrrc chrysoptire, Lacep. Ill, xxxiii; — P. ci/iata, Kuhl; — P. marginata, Cuv. and
Val. 515.

86 FISHES.

Bloch, Schn. pi. 20, (the Rock-fish), with longitudinal blackish
stripes*.

We might also separate from Labrax a species of the United
States, whose scales extend to the maxillary bone — Labrax mucro-
nattis, Cuv. and Val. II, xii. The

Lates, Cup.,

The Varioles, hardly differ from the Perches, except in having deep notches
and even a small spine at the angle of the preoperculum, and also
deeper notches in the sub-orbital and humeral bones.

Lates niloticus, Cuv. ; Perca nilotica, L. ; Keschr of the Arabs,
Geoff. Egyp. Poiss. pi. ix, f. 1. A very large and excellent fish of
a silver colour, known to the antients by the name of Lotus or Lates.
Other species are found in the rivers of Indiay.

Centropomus, Lacep.

The Centropomes have the preoperculum dentated, but the operculum
obtuse and unarmed. Only one species is known J.

Centrop. undecimalis, Cuv. ; Scicena undecimalis, Bloch, 305 ;
Cuv. and Val. II, xiv. A large and excellent fish, known through-
out the hot parts of America by the name of Pike, whose muzzle, in
fact, is depressed like that of our true Pike ; but its teeth are small
and crowded, and all its remaining characters are those of Perches
with two dorsal fins; it is of a silver colour tinged with greenish; a
blackish lateral line §.

"Grammistes, Cuv.,

Have the preoperculum and operculum armed with spines, but without
notches ; the dorsals approximated ; scales small, and as if buried in the
epidermis ; no sensible spine to the anal fin.

The species are small, with longitudinal white streaks on a black-
ish ground. They inhabit the Indian Ocean ||.

Aspro, Cuv.,
Have the body elongated; the two dorsals separate; ventrals broad;

* It is also the Perca Mitchilli, New York Trans, v. I, 413. Add, Perca elongatn,
Geoff. Eg. pi. xix, 1; — Labr. waigiensis, Less, and Gam., Cuv. and Val. II, 33; —
Labr.japonicus, Cuv. II, 85.

f The Peclie naire of Pondicherry, or Cockup of the English at Calcutta {Lates
nobilis, Cuv.), Russ. II, cxxxi, Cuv. and Val. II, xiii, which is also the Holocentre
lieptadactyle, Lacep. ; — Holoc. calcarifer, Bl. 244.

I Lacep. in his genus Centropomus, comprehends several Fishes which have not
its characters, such as the Labrax lupus, the kites, &c

§ Bl. pi. 305, has improperly given it a red tinge; the Sphyrene orvert, Lacep. V,
pi. iv, f. 2, is nothing else than a bad figure of this fish; it is also the Camuri of
Marcgrave.

|| Gram, orientalis, Bl., Cuv. and Val. II, pi. xxvii. La Sciene rayee, Lacep. IV, 323;
his Perseque triacanthe, lb. 424; his Per. pentaca?>the, lb.; his Liodian six rates, lb.
302; his Cetitropome six raies, lb. 690; the Perca biliiieata, Thunb. Nov. Act. Stokh.
XIII, pL v, p. 142, appear to be varieties of it.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 87

teetli small and dense as the pile on velvet; head depressed; the muzzle
extending beyond the mouth, and terminating in a rounded point.

Two species inhabit the fresh waters of Europe ; their flesh is
delicate and agreeable.

Aspro vulgaris, Cuv. ; Perca asper, L. ; Bl. 107, 1 and 2; Cuv.
and Val. II, xxvi. From the Rhone and its tributaries ; greenish ;
three or four blackish vertical bands; eight spines in the first
dorsal.

A. Zlngel; Perca Zingel, L. ; Bl. 105. From the Danube;
larger than the vulgaris, but similar as to colours; thirteen spines in
the first dorsal.
This division also comprises some fishes whose singularity of con-
formation gives rise to several subgenera.

Huro, Cuv. and Val.

The Hurons have all the characters of a true Perch, except that the
preoperculum is not dentated*.

Etelis, Cuv. and Val.

All the characters of a true Perch : hooked teeth in the jaws, but not
as in the Lucio-Perca, in the palate f.

Niphon, Cuv. and Val.

Teeth as in the Perch, and strong spines at the lower part of the pre-
operculum, and on the operculum \.

Enoplosus, Lacep.,

Have the characters of the Perches; angle of the preoperculum more
deeply dentate ; the body much compressed, and, together with the two
dorsals, of great vertical height §.

Diploprion, Kuhl and Van Hasselt,

Have all the characters of a Perch; body compressed; a double den-
tated border on the lower part of the preoperculum, and two spines on
the operculum ||.

Apogon, Lacep.

The Surmullets have the body short, furnished, as well as the opercula,
with large scales that are easily dislodged; the two dorsals very separate,
and a double dentated border on the preoperculum. They are small fishes,
and generally red. One of them,

Ap. rex mullorum, Cuv. ; Mullus imberbis, L. ; commonly called

* Huro nigricans, Cuv. and Val. II, pi. xvii.

f Etelis carbtinculus, lb. pi. xviii.

% Niphon spinosus, lb. XIX.

§ Enoplosus armatus, lb. XX, or Chretodon armntus t J. White.

|| Diploprion bijascialum, Cuv. and Val. II, xxi.

88 FISHES.

Roi des Rougels, Cuv., Mem. du Mus. I, 336, and pi. xi, f. 2;
three inches long; red; a black spot on each side of the tail; is
found in the Mediterranean*.

Cheilodipterus, Lacep.,

Combine all the characters of the Surmullet, differing only in the fangs
or long and pointed teeth, with which the jaws are armed.

They inhabit the Indian seas, are small, and generally marked with
longitudinal streaks -f.

POMATOMUS, RlSS.,

Have two separate dorsals like the Surmullet, and the scales dislodged
with the same facility ; but the preoperculum is simply striate, the oper-
culum emarginate, and the eye enormous ; very small teeth, dense as the
pile on smooth velvet.

Pomat. telescope, Risso ; Cuv. and Val. II, xxiv. The only spe-
cies known ; it inhabits the Mediterranean, and is excessively rare.

A second subdivision comprises the Percoides with two dorsal fins, and
long and pointed teeth mingled with those that are small and dense as the
pile on velvet.

Ambassis, Commers.,

Have nearly the same form as that of the Surmullet; a double notch
towards the lower part of the preoperculum; the operculum terminating
in a point. They are distinguished from the Surmullet by the contiguity
of their two dorsals, and by a spine before the first.

They do not perhaps strictly belong to this family, for there are no ap-
pendages to the pylorus.

These are small fresh-water fishes of the East Indies, which
swarm in the pools and rivulets; several of them are transparent j.

One of them is common in a pond in the Island of Bourbon
where they are prepared as anchovies — Ambassis Commersonii, Cuv.
and Val. II, xxv§.
To this division belongs the

Lucio-Perca, Cuv.,

The Sandres, called by the French Brochets-Perches, or Perch-Pike,

* This is the Apogon rouge, Lacep.; the Corvulus, Gesner, p. 1273; the Amia of
Gronovius, Zooph. IX, 2; the Cevtropomus rubens, Spinol. An. Mus. X, XXVIII,
2; the Dipterodon ruber, Rafin. Caratt. No. 715, &c. The Dipterodon hexaeanthe,
Lacep. Ill, pi. iv, f. 2, and the Ostorinque fleurieu, Id. Ill, xxxii, 2, also belong to
this genus. For the numerous species of this genus foreign to Europe, see Cuv.
and Val. II, 151, et seq.

f Cheilod. 8-vittatus, Cuv., Lacep. Ill, xxxv, 1; which is his Cheilod. rave, III,
p. 543, and his Centropome macrodon, IV, 273; — Cheilod. arabicus (Perca lineata,
Forsk,), Cuv. and Val. II, pi. xxiii; — Ch. 5-lineatus, lb. p. 167.

% Several of them are comprised by M. Ham. Buchanan among his Chandae.

§ It is the Centropome ambasse, Lacep. IV, 273, and his Lutjan gymnocephale,
IV, 216, and III, pi. xxiii, f. 3. For the other species, see Cuv. and Val. II, 181,
et seq.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 89 .

because to the characters of a Perch, they add teeth somewhat resembling
those of the Pike. The edge of their preoperculum has but one simple
emargination ; their dorsal fins are separate ; some of the maxillary and
palatine teeth are long and pointed.

Luc. sandra, Cuv. ; Perca lucio-perca, L. ; Sandre d 'Europe ;
Bl. pi. li; Cuv. and Val. II, pi. xv. Is an excellent fish, of the
lakes and rivers of Germany, and of Eastern Europe. Longer
than the Perch ; greenish, with vertical brown bands ; from three to
four feet in length*.

A second division comprises the Perches with seven branchial rays and
one dorsal. They are subdivided on grounds nearly analogous to those
which have led to the subdivision of the preceding ones ; their teeth are
either hooked, or are all dense like the pile on velvet ; notches and spines
on the opercula, &c.

In the subdivision, furnished with hooked teeth, we find,

Serranus, Cuv.
The Serrans have the preoperculum dentate ; the bony operculum ter-
minating in one or several points. This genus contains a vast number of
species, and may be subdivided as follows :

Serranus, properly so called,
Or the Sea-Perch. No apparent scales on either of the jaws. Several
beautiful species inhabit the Mediterranean, such as,

Perca scriba, L. ; Cuv. and Val. II, xxviii, so named from having
some irregular blue lines on the head-f-.

Perca cabrilla, L. ; Cuv. and Val. II, xxix. Three oblique bands
on the cheek J. It is also found in the ocean. This species, and
perhaps the preceding one, were known to the Greeks by the name
of Chane, and were thought to consist exclusively of females. Ca-
volini assures us, that, in every specimen he examined, he found a
roe, at the lower end of which was a whitish part, which might be
considered as the milt. He believes them to be hermaphroditical.
The

Anthias, BL, partim,
Are Serrani, in which both jaws and the end of the muzzle are armed
with very obvious scales §. The most remarkable species is,

* Add, the Berschik, or Sandre bdtard {Perca volgensis, Gm.) ; — the Lucio-perca
americana, Cuv. and Val. II, pi. xvi, p. 122.

f It is also the Perca marina, Brunnich; the Holocentrus marinas of Laroche; the
Hoi. argus of Spinola, and the Hoi. maroccanus of Bloch. The Hoi. fasciatus, Bl. 240,
appears to ns nothing more than the same species somewhat changed.

X It is also the Hoi. virescens, Bl. ; the Serranus flavus and cabrilla of Kip.; the
Labrus chanus of Gmel., or Holocentre cliani, Lacep. ; the Bodian hiatule, Id. &c. Add
the Sacchetto, Labrus hepatus, L.; and Lab. culriaticus, Gm., or Holocentrus siagonoius,
Laroche, &c; — Serranus vitta, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. de Freycin., Zool. L\ III, 2;
Hoi. argentinus, Bl. 235; — Serr. radialis, Q. et G. 316; — Serr. fascicularis, Cuv. et
Val. II, xxx, and the other species described, Id. II, p. 239 — 249.

§ Most of our Merrae are placed by Bloch among his Anthias, but we restrict this
genus to the species answering to our definition of the same. So little regard has

90 FISHES.

Anth. saeer, Bl.*, pi. cccxv; Barbier de la Mediterranee, Cuv.
and Val. II, xxxi. A most beautiful fish, of a fine ruby red, chang-
ing to gold and silver, with yellow bands on the cheek. The third
dorsal ray is more than double the height of the others; the ventral
fins are very long, and the lobes of the caudal fin terminate in fila-
ments, the lower of which is the longest f.

Merra,

Serrani, whose maxillary is destitute of scales, but whose lower jaw is
covered with small ones. There is one of them found in the Mediterra-
nean; the

Perca gigas, Gm. Of a clouded brown; three feet and more in
length; it is also taken in the ocean.

The Merra?, foreign to Europe, are extremely numerous ; the dentation
of the preoperculum in several becomes almost insensible J; but, gene-
rally, they can only be distinguished by their colours.

There are many in which the body is dotted with colours more or less
vivid §, and others, in which it is marked with crowded spots ||.

Some in which it is longitudinally striped ^[, or transversely**, or mar-
bled in large patches j"f-, or divided into two colours J J, or, finally, of a

Bloch had to exactness, that his Anthias saeer does not even possess the character
attributed to the genus Anthias of a spineless operculum.

* This term Saeer was applied by the antients to their Anthias, a large Fish very
different from the one here described. See Cuv. et Val. II, p. 255 et seq.

f Add, Serranus oculaius, Cuv. et Val. II, xxxii, and the other species described,
lb. p. 262—270.

X These, when the muzzle is naked, constitute the Bodianus, Bloch; they only
differ from most of the Holocentri of the same author in this diminished dentation.
The Holocentri, when the muzzle is scaly, are called Epinepheli, and where
this is the case with the Bodiani, they are called Cephalopholes. The Lutjani
and Anthias of Bloch differ from the Holocentri, in the absence of the spines on
their operculum; in the first ones the muzzle is naked; it is scaly in the others; but
all these characters, of but little importance in themselves, are very badly applied to
the species.

§ They are the Jacob Evertsen of the Dutch, such as, Bodianus guttatus, Bl. 224 ; —
Cephalnpholis argus, Bl., Schn., pi. 61; — Bodianus boenak, Bl. 226; — Holoc. auratus,
lb. 236; — Hoi. caruleo-punctatus, Id. 242, 2; — Labrus punctulatus, Lacep. Ill, xvii,
2, &c; and in America, Perca guttata, Bl. 312, or Spare sanguinolent , Lacep. IV, iv,
1; — P. maculata, Bl. 313, or Spare atlantique, Lac. IV, v, 1; — Johnius guttatus, Bl.
Schn., or Bonaci-arara, Parra, XVI, 2; — Lutjunus lunulatus, Bl. Schn., or Cabrilla,
Parra, XXXVI, 1 ; — Bodianus guaiivere, Parra, V; — Holoc. punctatus, Bl. 241, or Pyra
pixanga, Marcg. 152; Gymnocephalus ruber, Bl. Schn. 67, or Carauna, Marcg. 147; —
Bodianus apua, Bl. 229.

|| Epinephelus merra, Bl. 329; — Holoc. pantherin, Lacep. Ill, xxvii, 3; — Serranus
bontoo, Cuv., Bussel, 128; — Serr. suillus, Buss. 127; — Labrus leopardus, Lacep. Ill,
xxx, 1; — Holoc. salmono'ides, lb. XXXIV, 3; — Bodianus melanurus, Geoffr. Eerypt,,
XXI, 1.

^f Sciana formosa, Shaw, Bussel, 129.

** Holoc. tigrinus, Bl. 237; Seb. Ill, xxvii;— Hoi. lanceolatus, Bl. 242, I;— Anthias
orientaiis, Id. 326; — Anth. striatus, Id. 324, which is also the Anth. cherna, BL, Schn.,
Parra, XXIV; and the Spare chrusomelane, Lacep.

ft Serranus geographicus, Kuhl, Cuv. et Val. II, p. 322.

XX Serranus flavo-cceruleus, Cuv., which is the Holoc. gymnose, Lacep. Ill, xxvii, 2;
his Budian grosse tete, III, xx, 2, and his Holocentrc jaune et bleu, IV, p. 369. It is
also the Set ran bourignon, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., Zool., pi. lvii, 2.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 91

more or less uniform tint*. Very few of them possess characters drawn
from very apparent varieties of form. We will cite, however, the

Serr. altivelis, Cuv. ; Cuv. et Val. II, xxxv. Which has a higher

dorsal than the others; it is sprinkled with round and black spots,

on a ground of light brown ; and

Serr. phaeton, lb. pi. xxxiv, whose two middle caudal rays unite
in a filament as long as the body.

We have separated from the Serrani, the

Plectropoma, Cuv.,

Which only differ from them in the more or less numerous teeth of the
lower edge of the preoperculum, which incline obliquely forwards-)-, and
the

DlACOPE, CuV.,

Whose character consists of an emargination near the lower edge of the
preoperculum, which receives a tuber of the interoperculum. The Indian
Ocean produces some large and splendid species J.

Mesoprion, Cuv.

These have, with the dental characters and fins of the Serrani and their
dentated preoperculum, an operculum terminating in an obtuse angle, not
spinous §.

Numerous and beautiful species inhabit the two oceans []. Several of
them are very large, and excellent for eating.

* Holocentrus ongus, Bl. 234; — Epinephelus marginalis, Bl. 328, or HoJoc. rosmare,
Lacep. IV, vii, 2; — Hoi. oceanique, Lacep. IV, vii. 3; — Epinephelus ruber, Bl. 331.
For various other species of which there are no figures, see descriptions in the second
volume of our History of Fishes.

f PI. melanoleucum, Cuv.; or Bodian melanoleuque, Lacep ; or Labre lisse, Id. Ill,
xxiii, 2; or Bvdian cyclostome, lb. XX, 1; — IJoloc. leopard, Lacep. IV, p. 337; Cuv.
et Val. II, xxxvi; — Bodianus maculatus, Bl. 228, or Plectropome ponctue, Freycin.
Zool. XLV, 1; — Holocentrus unicolor, Bl., Schn., |Seb. Ill, lxxvi, 10; Plect. puella,
Cuv. et Val. II, xxxvii, and the other species described in the second Vol. of our His-
tory of Fishes.

I Diac. Sebce, Cuv., Seb. Ill, xxvii, 2, and Russel, 99; — D. rivulata, Cuv.; Cuv.
et Val. II, xxxviii; — D. macolor, Cuv., Renard, I, ix, 60; — D. octulineata, Cuv., or
Holoc. bengalensis, Bl. 246, the same as the Labrus 8-lineatus, Lacep. Ill, xxii, 1, and
as the ScicEna kasmira, Forsk.; Hoi. b-lineatus, Bl. 239, is a variety of it; — D. notata,
Cuv., Russel, 98; D. quadriguttata, Cuv., or Spare lepisure, Lacep. Ill, xv, 2; — D.
calveti, Quoy et Gaym. Voy. Freycin. Zool. LVII, 1, and several other species de-
scribed in the second Vol. of our History of Fishes.

§ Most of them were comprised in the genus Lutjanus of Bloch, but were there
mingled with species of other families, either Scieuoides or Labroides, of which we
have made other genera.

|| Mesopr. unimaculatus, Russel, 97; — Anthias, Johnii, Bl. 318; — Coius catus, Bu-
chan, 38, f. 30; — M. b-lineatus, Russel, 110; — M. monostygma, Cuv., Lacep. Ill, xvii,
1; — M. untnotatus, Cuv., Cuv. et Val. II, xxix, Duham. part II, sect IV, pi. iii, f. 2,
and probably Sparus synagris, L., Catesb. II, xvii, 1 ; — M. buccanella, Cuv., the figure
of which was taken by Bloch from Plumier, and, with some alteration, given as the
Sparus erythrhius, pi. 274; — Bod. aia, Bl. 227, or Acara aia, Marcgr. 167; — Mes. chry-
sums, Cuv. et Val. II, xl, which is also the Sparus chrysurus, Bl. 262, or Acara pi~

92 FISHES.

We now pass to the Perches with seven branchial rays, and a single
dorsal, which have the teeth dense as the pile on velvet.

AcERINA, CuV.

The Gremilles are characterized by cavities or depressions on the bones

of the head, and by their preoperculum and operculum having only small

spines, but not dentated. Two fresh-water species are found in Europe:

A. cernua; Perca cernua, L. ; Perche gottjonnwre, Bl. 53, 2;

Cuv. et Val. Ill, pi. xli. (The Common Gremille). A small fish

of an agreeable flavour, very common in all the fresh-water streams

of Europe ; it is of an olive colour, spotted with brown.

A. schraitz/er; Perca schraitzer, L. ; the Schrcetz, Bl. 332.
Larger, and has interrupted blackish lines on the sides : it inhabits
the Danube*.

Rypticus, Cuv.

The Savonniers, or Soap-worts, also have only small spines on the
opercular pieces; the scales, like those of the Grammistes, are small,
and concealed in a thick epidermis ; particularly distinguished from the
Grammistes by the single dorsal. There is one of these in America of a
violet black, Anthias saponaceus, Block., Schn., Parra, xxiv, 2, (The Sa-
ponaceous Anthias), which owes its name to its soft skin and the layer upon
it of a frothy viscosity f.

PoLYPRION, CuV.

The Cerniers have not only dentations on the preoperculum and spines,
or the operculum, but there is on this last bone a bifurcated and very rough
crest, and the bones of the head are generally covered with asperities.

The Mediterranean possesses a species which becomes enormous,
Polyp, cernium, Valenc. ; Mem. du Mus. torn. XI, p. 265 ; and
Cuv. and Val. Ill, pi. xliij. It is clouded with brown on a lighter
ground.

Centropristis, Cuv.,

Possess all the characters of the Serrans, except that they want the
canines, and that all the teeth are small and dense as the pile on velvet;
preoperculum dentated and operculum spinous.

Centrop. nigricans, Cuv.; Coryphcena nigrescens, Bl., Schn.;

tamba of Marcgr. 155; — the Anthias rabirrubia, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXII, 1; — the
Spare dcmi-hme, Lacep. IV, Hi, 1 ; and the Colas of Guadeloupe, Duham. Sect. IV,
pi. xii, 1 ; — M. cynodon, Cuv., ox Anthias caballerotc, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXV, 1 ; — Anth.
jocu, BL, Schn., Parra, m XXV, 2; — Sp. tetracanthus, Bl. 279, which is also the Vivanet
gris, Lacep. IV, iv, 3; and the Lutjanus acutirostris, Desmar. ; — M. sillao, Russel,
"lOO; — M.lunulatus, Cuv., Mungo Park, Lin. Trans. Ill, xxxv, 6; — Lutj.erythropterus,
Bl. 249; — Lu/j. lutjanus, Id. 245; — Sparus malabaricus, BL, Schn.; — M.rangus, Cuv.,
Russel, 94; — M. rapilli, Id. 95 ; — Alphestes gembra, BL, Schn., pi. 51, 2, and the other
species described in our second volume of the History of Fishes.

* Add, Perca acerina, Guldenst, Nov. Comment. Petrop. XIX, 455.

•f- Add, Rypticus arenatus, Cuv. et Val. Ill, pi. xlvi.

\ The Amphiprimi aus trails, Bl. Schn. pi. 47, or americanus, lb. p. 205 ; and the
Amph. oxygeneios, lb., or Perca prognathus, Forst., do not appear to us to be distin-
guishable from the cernium.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 93

Cuv. and Val. Ill, pi. xliv. (The Black Perch). Blackish brown;
the caudal fins trilobate when young. It becomes large, and is
found in the United States*.

Gristes, Cuv.

The Growlers only differ from Centropristis in the margin of the preo-
perculum, which is entire and without dentations y.

Here the genus Perca, such as it was defined by Artedi and Linnaeus,
terminates; but there remain many fishes which approach it, although
peculiar characters compel us to arrange them in separate genera.

We begin with those Perches which have less than seven branchial rays.
We may also subdivide them according to the number of their dorsal fins,
and the nature of their teeth.

Of those with a single dorsal fin, some have hooked teeth among the
others: they are the

Cirrhites, Commers.

The Cirrhites, which have the preoperculum, as in Mesoprion, dentated,
and the operculum terminating in an obtuse angle ; distinguished by the
inferior rays of their pectoral fin, which are stouter and not branched, ex-
tending a little beyond the membrane. They have six rays to the branchiae.
They all inhabit the Indian Ocean J.

Others of the Perches, with less than seven branchial rays, have only
the teeth dense as the pile on velvet, or, at least, have no hooked ones.

Chironemus, Cuv.

The Chironemes have the inferior part of the pectoral fins with the
same simple rays as the Cirrhites §.

POMOTIS, Cut.

The Pomotis are fishes with a compressed and oval body, characterized
by a membranous prolongation at the angle of the operculum. They in-
habit the rivers of America||.

* This is also the Lutjan trilobe, Lacep. II, xvi, 3, and the Perca varia, Mitchill,
Trans. New York, I. — Add, Perca trifurca, L.; — La Scorpene de Waigiou, Quoy and
Gaym. Freycin. Zool. LVIII, 1 ; and the other species described in the third vol. of
our History of Fishes.

f The Labre salmo'ide, Lacep. IV, v, 2, or Cychla variabilis, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc.
Phil., Cuv. and Val. Ill, pi. xlv; — Gr. macquariensis, lb. p. 58.

X The Cirrhite tachete, Lacep. V, 3, which is also his Labre marbre, III, v, 3, and
p. 492; — the Cirrhite pantherin, or Spare pantherin, lb. IV, vi, 1, and p. 160, and
Seb. Ill, xxvii, 12; — Cirrhites vittatus, Cuv,, Renard, I, xviii, 102; — Cirrh. aprinus,
Cuv. et Val. Ill, xlvii, &c.

§ One species only is known, Chiron, georgianus, Cuv. et Val. Ill, p. 78; I mm
New Holland.

|| Pomotis vulgaris, Cuv., or Labnts auritus, L., called Pond-Perch in the 1
States. Catesb. II, viii, 2, Cuv. et Val. Ill, pi. 49.

94 FISHES.

Centrarchus, Cuv.,

Have the characters of the Pomotis, numerous spines in the anal fin,
and, further, a group of teeth, dense as the pile on velvet, on the tongue*.
From America.

Priacanthus, Cuv.

The Priacanthes have the body oblong, compressed, completely covered,
as well as the entire head, and even both jaws, with small rough scales ;
the preoperculum dentated, and its salient angle spiniform, whilst it is
itself dentated. Found in the seas of hot climates p.

DlJLES, Cuv.

The Doules have the operculum, as in Centropristis, terminating in
spines; the preoperculum dentated, and the teeth dense as the pile on
velvet; but six rays to the branchial membrane J.

D. rupestris, Cuv., a species nearly resembling a carp, and
esteemed for its taste, is found in the fresh waters of the isles of
Bourbon and the Mauritius, where it is much esteemed §.

Therapon, Cuv.

The Therapons have a preoperculum dentated, an operculum termi-
nated by a stout spine; a strongly emarginate dorsal fin between the 1
spinous and soft part : the teeth of the external row pointed and stronger
than the rest. In some, the teeth of the vomer fall out at an early pe-
riod. They inhabit the waters of India, and are remarkable for a natatory
bladder, divided into two compartments by a stricture ||.

It is hardly possible to separate the Datnia from them, although they
want the palatine teeth; their profile is more rectilinear; their dorsal fin
less emarginate ^[.

Pelates, Cuv.

Have the same internal and opercular characters as the Therapons; but
their teeth are uniformly dense as the pile on velvet, and the dorsal but
slightly emarginate **.

* Centrarchus ceneus, Cuv., or Cychla cenea, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil.; — C. spa-
ro'ides, or Labre sparo'ide, Lacep. Ill, xxiv, 2;— Labre iris, Lac. IV, v, 3, which is
also his Labre macroptere, III, xxiv, 1.

f Antldas macrophtalmus, Bl. 319, or Catatufa, Parra, XII, 1; — Anthins boops, BI.
Schn. 308; — Scicena hamruhr, Forsk. ; — Labrus cruentatus, Lacep. Ill, ii, 2, and the
other species described in our third volume.

X Dules auriga, Cuv. et Val. Ill, li; — D. taniurus, lb. LIII, and the other species
described in the third volume.

§ This is the Centropome de roche, Lacep. IV, 273.

|1 Hidocentrus servus, Bl. 238, 1, or Scicena jerbna, Forsk.; — Hoi. 4-lineatus, BI.
238, 2;— Titer, puta, Cuv. Russel, pi. 126;— Ther. theraps, Cuv., Cuv. and Val. Ill,
liv, and the other species described in our third volume.

^f Datnia Buchanan!, or Coins datnia, Buchanan, pi. ix, f. 29, and Cuv. and \al.
Ill, lv; — Dat. cancellata, lb. p. 144.

** Pelates quinque-lineatus, Cuv. et Val. 111,56.

ACANTHOPTEUYGIANS. 95

Hklotes, Cut).

Also very similar; have the dorsal fin deeply emarginate, and are particu-
larly distinguished by their anterior range of teeth being trilobate*.

Most of these fishes have longitudinal blackish lines on a silvery
ground.

The Perches with less than six branchial rays and two dorsals consti-
tute but two genera.

Trichodon, S teller.

The preoperculum of which has very strong spines, and the operculum
of which terminates in a flat point; they have no scales; their mouth is
cleft almost vertically. But one species is known,

Tr. Stelleri, Cuv. ; Trachinus trichodon ; Pall. Mem. de Petersb.
IV, xv, 8, and Cuv. and Val. Ill, lvii. From the north of the
Pacific -f\

SlLLAGO, CuV.

Head somewhat elongated and pointed; mouth small; teeth dense, as
the pile on velvet, in the jaws and before the vomer; an operculum termi-
nating in a small spine; six branchial rays; two contiguous dorsals;
spines of the first slender, the second long and low.

They are all from the Indian Ocean, and much esteemed for the
flavour and delicacy of their flesh. The most remarkable species is
Sill, domina, Cuv. ; Le Peche Madame de Pondicherry. Brown-
ish, and distinguished by the first ray of its dorsal, elongated into a
filament as long as the body. Its head is scaly, and the eye very
small. There is another,

Sill, malabarica; Scicena malabariea, Bl. Schn. ; Soring, Russel,
113; Le Peche bicout; not above a foot long, and fawn-coloured,
which is considered one of the best fishes of India J.

We now pass to those Perches which have more than seven rays to the
branchiae. Three genera are known, all of which present the following
peculiarity, that their ventral fins have a spine and seven or more soft
rays, while in other Acanthopterygians there are never more than five
soft rays.

* Holocentrum§, Artedi.

The Holocentri are beautiful fishes with brilliant and dentated scales,

* Heloles 6-lineatus, Cuv. ct Val. Ill, lvii, or Enclave six ligncs, Quoy et Gaym.,
Voy. de Freycin. Zool. LXX, 1.

t This fish having neither jugular ventrals, nor an elongated posterior dorsal, nor
a strong spine on the operculum, nor seven rays in the branchiae, cannot be a Trachi-
nus, as was thought by Pallas and Tilesius.

X, Add, Atherima sihama, Forsk., or Platicephalus sihamus, BL Schn. Ruppel,
Foiss. pi. iii, f. 1; Sillago maculata, Quoy et Gaym. Freycin. pi. iii, £ 3.

§ We restrict this genus to species answering to the definition of it given by Ar-
tedi, Seb III, ad tab. xxvii, 1, and, like him, we give a neuter termination to this

96 FISHES.

in which the operculum is dentated and spinous, and the preopercu-
lum not only is dentated, but it has a stout spine at the angle, which is di-
rected backwards. They are found in the hot parts of both oceans*,

Myripristis, Cuv.

These have all the brilliancy, shapes, and scales of the Holocentrums,
but their preoperculum has a dentated double border, and wants the spine
at the angle. This genus is remarkable for a natatory bladder, divided
into two compartments, the anterior part of which is bilobate and attached
to the cranium in two places, where the latter is only closed by a mem-
brane, and which correspond to the sacs of the ears. They inhabit the
hot parts of both oceans f.

Beryx, Cuv.

The Beryx differ from the Myripristis in having but a single short
dorsal fin, with but a few small spines, almost hidden in its anterior edge ;
ten soft rays in the ventral fins J. It is impossible to remove from it the

Trachichtys, Shaw.

The Trachichtes, which, with the same roughness that exists in the
three preceding genera, and the same little dorsal fin as in the Beryx,
have a flat spine at the lower part of the preoperculum, and one on the
shoulder ; their abdomen and the sides of their tail are covered with large
carinated scales §.

All the Perches of which we have hitherto spoken, have their ventral
fins inserted under the pectorals; there are some genera, however, in
which they are differently situated.

The Percoides Jugulares have their throat further forwards than
the pectoral fins.

Trachinus, Lin.

The Weevers, or Otter Pikes, have the head compressed, approximated

name to prevent it from being confounded with the Holocentrus of Bloch and of
Lacepede, which contains various other species, Serrani particularly.

* Holocentrum longipinne, Cuv., which is the Hoi. sogho, Bl. 232; and his Bodianus
pentacanthus, or the Jaguaraca of Marcgr. 147; it is also the Scieena rubra, Bl. Schn.
Catesb. II, ii, 2; and the Amphiprion matejeulo, Bl. Schn. Parra, XIII, 2; — Hoi.
vrientale, Cuv. Seb. Ill, xxvii, 1; — Hoi. rubrum, Bennet, Fishes of Ceylon, pi. iv; —
Hoi. leo, Cuv. Ren. I, xxvii, 148, a very bad figure; — Scieena spinifera, Forsk. ; — Hoi.
hastatum, Cuv. et Val. Ill, lix; — Hoi. diadema, Lacep. Ill, ix, 3, or Perca pulchella,
Bennet, Zool. Journ. Ill, ix, 3; — H. sammara, or Sciana sammara, Forsk, or Labrc
anguleux, Lacep. Ill, xxii, 1, and the other species described in our third volume.

f Myripristis jacobus, Cuv., Desmar. Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat.; — M. japonic us, Cuv.
et Val. Ill, lviii; — M. botche, Cuv. Russel, 105; — M. parvidens, Cuv. Id. 109; — the
Lutjan hexagone, Lacep. IV, 213; his Holocenlre Thunberg, lb. 367; his Centropome
rouge, lb. 273; the Sc'ucna murdjan, Forsk, also belong to this genus. See its history
in the third volume of our Icthyology.

X Beryx decadactylus, Cuv. et Val. Ill, 222; — B. Unealus, lb. 226, and pi. lxx.

§ Trachichtys austrulis, Shaw, Nat. Misc. No. 578: and Gen. Zool. IV, part II,
p. 260.

ACANTH0PTERYG1ANS. 97

eyes, and an oblique mouth ; the first dorsal fin very short, the second
very long; pectoral fins large, and a stout spine on the operculum. They
generally remain concealed in the sand; wounds inflicted by the spines of
their first dorsal are much dreaded, but their flesh is agreeable. Several
species are found in the Atlantic, &c. The most common on our coasts is,

Track, draco, L. ; Salv. 72; Track, lineatus, Bl. Schn. pi. x;
and Penn. Brit. Zool. Ill, xxix. (The Dragon Weever). Grey
and reddish, with blackish spots; blue streaks and yellow tints;
thirty rays to the second dorsal fin ; flanks obliquely striated. We
have a small species, the

Track, vipera, Cuv. ; Boideroc, Penn. 28; Bloch, 61. (The
Otter-Pike). Paler, with smooth flanks and twenty-four lays in the
second dorsal. It is more dreaded than the preceding species, be-
cause as it is smaller in size persons are more liable to be stung by
it. The Mediterranean contains,

Track, araneus, Puss. ; Salvian, 71; copied by Willough. pi. S.
10, f. 2. Higher; twenty-eight rays to the second dorsal fin; six
or eight black spots along the flank.

Track, radiatus, Cuv. ; Cuv. and Val. Ill, lxxii. Twenty-five
rays in the second dorsal fin; head shagreened and rough ; flanks
alternately marked wilh large black rings and full spots.

The Weevers of remote seas are unknown to us.

Percis, Bl. ScJm.

These fishes, in some respects, are the representatives of the Weevers
in the seas of hot climates. They principally differ from them in the de-
pression of their head, and by having hooked teeth in the anterior part
of the jaws and vomer; but there are none in the palate. Their first
small dorsal fin is somewhat more closely united to the long one which
follows it*.

PlNGUIPES, CuV.

Have their forms more heavy than the Percis; strong conical teeth;
fleshy lips and teeth in the palate ; thick ventrals.

Ping, brasilianus, Cuv. and Val. Ill, lxxiv. From Brazil, the
only species known. The

Percophis, Cuv.

Have the body, on the contrary, much elongated; some of the teeth are
long and very pointed, and the end of the lower jaw projects.

Percoph. brasilianus, Cuv.; Perc. Fabre, Quoy and Gaym.,

* Percis maculata, Bl. Schn. pi. 38; — P. semi-fasciata, Cuv. et Val. Ill, lxxiii; —
P. cylindrica, or Sciana eylindrica, Bl. 299, 1, which is also the Bodianus Sebic, Bl.
Schn. Seb. Ill, xxvii, 16; — P. canccllata, Cuv., or Labre letracanthe, Lacep. Ill,
p. 473; and II, pi. xiii, f. 3, which is also his Bodian letracanthe, IV, 302; — P. ocel-
lata, Renard, I, vi, 42 ; — P. colias, Cuv., or Enchelynpus colias, Bl. Schn. p. 54, and
the other species described in our third volume of Iethyology.
VOL. II. H

98 FISHES.

Voy. Freycin., Zool., liii, 1, 2. The only species known: also from
Brazil.
One of the most remarkable genera of the Jugular Perches is that of

Uranoscopus, Lin.,

The Star-Gazers, so called because, on the superior surface of their
nearly cuboid head, the eyes are so placed as that they appear constantly
looking on the heavens : the mouth is cleft vertically ; the lower part of
the preoperculum is crenate, and there is a stout spine to each shoulder ;
but six rays in the branchiae. In the mouth and before the tongue is a
long and narrow slip, which can be protruded at will, and serves, it is said,
to attract small fish, while it remains concealed in the mud. A remark-
able peculiarity of their anatomy is the enormous size of the gall-bladder,
a fact well known to the antients*.

In some, the first dorsal, small and spinous, is separated from the se-
cond which is soft and long.

Uranos. scaber, L. ; Bl. 173. (The Mediterranean Star-Gazer).
Grey-brown, with irregular ranges of whitish spots. Although one
of the most hideous of fishes, it is eaten. From the Mediterranean.
Very similar species are found in the Indian Ocean, and in Bra-
zil -p.
Others have but one dorsal in which the spinous and soft parts are
united. They are all foreign to our seas^.

In a third division of the Perches, the ventrals are inserted further
back than the pectorals: they are the Abdominal Perches. The first
genus is

PoLYNEMUS, L.

The Paradise Fish, so named, because several of the inferior pectoral

rays are free, and form so many filaments§ ; the ventrals are not very far

back, and the pelvis is still suspended to the bones of the shoulder. They

are allied to the Perches by the teeth, dense as the pile on velvet, or bent

back like those of a wool-card, which arm their jaws, vomer, and palate ;

but their snout is convex, and the vertical fins scaly as in many of the

Scienoides : the two dorsals are separated, the preoperculum* is dentated,

and the mouth deeply cleft: they are found in all the seas of hot climates.

Pol. paradiseus and Pol. quinquarius, L. ; Seb. Ill, xxvii, 2 ;

Edw., 208; Russel, 285. (The Mango Fish). So called from its

fine yellow colour: has seven filaments on each side, the first of

which are twice the length of the body. The natatory bladder is

* Arist. Hist., An., lib. II, xv.

■) Add Uranosc. affinis, Ur. marmoralus, Ur. gultatus, Ur.filibarbis, Ur. Y gracum ;
new species described in our third vol. of Icthyology.

J Uranosc. Icbcck, Bl., Scbn., p. 47; Ur. monopterygius, lb. 49; — Ur. lavis, lb., pi.
viii; — Ur. inermis, Cuv. et Val. Ill, lxxi, and Ur.cirrhosus, two new species.

§ From the Greek nerna (i. thread).

ACANTHOPTERYGFANS. 99

wanting in this species, although it exists in all the others : it is the
most delicious fish that is eaten in Bengal.

The filaments of the remaining Polynemi are shorter than the
hody, and their number is one of their specific characters. Some
of them are large, and all are considered excellent food*.

In the succeeding genera the ventrals are altogether behind, and the
pelvis no longer adheres to the bones of the shoulder. The first, for a
long time, was even confounded with that of the Pikes: it is the genus

Sphyr^na|, Bl. Schn.

Large fishes of an elongated form, with two separated dorsals, an oblong
head, the lower jaw of which projects in a point before the upper one, and
part of whose teeth are large, pointed and trenchant. Their preoperculum
is not dentated, nor their operculum spinous. There are seven rays to the
branchiae, and numerous pyloric appendages. One species is found in the
Mediterranean.

Sph. vulgaris; Esox sphyrcena, L. ; Sphyene spet, Lacep.J; Bl.
389; Le Spet; Espeto (the Spanish for Pike); which attains a length
of more than three feet; back bronzed; belly silvery; brown spots
when young.

Sph. picuda, Bl. Schn.; Parr., xxxv, 5, 2; Lac, V, ix, 3. A
closely allied American species. The same country produces another,
Sph. barracuda, Cuv. ; Catesb., II, pi. 1, f. 1. Which becomes
much larger, and is nearly as much dreaded as the shark.

Paralepis, Cuv.

Small fishes resembling the Sphyraena?, but whose second dorsal is so
small and frail that it has been considered as adipose§.

Mullus, Lin.

The Surmullets are rather closely allied to the Perches by several ana-
tomical and external details, though the species which compose it present
so many remarkable peculiarities that they might readily be made to con-
stitute a separate family. Their two dorsals are far apart; the entire body
and opercula are covered with large scales which are easily dislodged ; the
preoperculum is without dentations; the mouth is slightly cleft and but
weakly armed with teeth, and above all they are distinguished by two long

* Polyn. plebeius, or Emo'i, Brouss., 131., 400; — Pol. urovemus, Cuv. Russel, 1S4; —
Pol. tetradactylus, Shaw, Russel, 183; — Pol. sextarius, Bl. Schn., pi. iv; — Pol. ennea-
dactulus, Vahl.; — Pol. decadactylus, Bl. 401; — Polynemus americanus, Cuv., which is
the species improperly named by Bl., pi. 402, paradis&us, and of which M. de Lace-
pcde has also improperly made a particular genus, his Polyductyle plunder, V, xiv, 3.

f From the Greek sphuraina, a dart.

j Spet, from Espeto, the Spanish name of the Pike.

§ Two or three small species described by Risso, 2d ed. f. 15 and 1C, inhabit the
Mediterranean.

h2

100 FISHES.

cirri, which depend from the symphysis of the lower jaw. They are di-
vided into two subgenera.

Mullus, properly so called.

The Surmullets have but three rays to the branchia?, operculum spine-
less, and no teeth in the upper jaw; two broad plates of small teeth, as if
paved, on the vomer; no natatory bladder. All the species are from
Europe.

M. barbatus, L.; LeRoucjet; Bl. 348, 2. (The Red Surmul-
let). Profile nearly vertical; of a fine lively red ; celebrated for the
flavour of its flesh, and for the amusement it afforded the Romans,
who took much pleasure in contemplating the changes of colour it
undergoes when dying*; most common in the Mediterranean.

M. surmuletus, L. ; Bl. 57. (The Surmullet). Larger; profile
less vertical; longitudinally striped with yellow; most common in
the ocean.

Upeneus, Cuv.

Have teeth in both jaws, but very often none in the palate; a small
spine on the operculum; four rays in the branchiae; a natatory bladder.
All the species are from the seas of hot countries-}-.

FAMILY II.

OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGIANS,

The Mailed Cheeks, contains a numerous series of fishes, to which
the singular appearance of their head, variously mailed and protected, gives
a peculiar aspect that has always caused them to be arranged in special
genera, although they have many close affinities with the Perches. Their
common character consists in having the suborbital bones more or less
extended over the cheek and articulated behind with the preoperculum.
The Uranoscopus is the only one of the preceding family which has any
thing like it, but the suborbital bone of the latter, although very broad,
is connected behind with the temporal bones, and not with the preoper-
culum.

Linnaeus divided them into three genera, Trigla, Cottus, and Scor-
PvENA ; it has been found necessary, however, to subdivide them, and to
add some of his Gasterostei.

* Senec, Quest, Nat, III, c. xviii.

f Mullus vittatus, Cm., Lacep., Ill, xiv, 1; Kussel, II, 158; — M. Russelii, Cuv.,
Russel, II, 157; — M. bifasciatus, Lacep., Ill, xiv. 2; — M. trifasciatus, Id., Ill, xv,
1, or M. multibandv, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., pi. 59, f. 1, and several other
species described in the third Vol. of our Icthyology.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 101

Trigla, Lin. *

The Gurnards are the fishes in which the ahove character is most
strongly marked; an enormous suborbital bone completely covering the
cheek, and even articulated by an immoveable suture with the preoper-
culum, so as to allow of no separate motion ; sides of the head nearly
vertical, giving it a form approaching that of a cube, or parallelopiped,
the bones hard and rough. There are two distinct dorsals, and three free
rays under the pectoral. They have about twelve caeca, and a broad and
bilobate air-bladder. Several species, when caught, utter sounds which
have procured for them in France their vulgar name of Grondins; in
England they are called Gurnards.

Trigla, Cuv.

The Triglae, properly so called, have teeth dense as the pile on velvet
in the jaws and before the vomer. The pectorals are large, but not suf-
ficiently so to raise them above the water. Numerous species are found
on the coast of Europe.

Tr. pint, BL, 355; Trig, cuctdus, L.? (The common Red Gur-
nard). Numerous vertical and parallel lines along each side of the
body, intersecting the lateral line, and formed by folds of the skin,
in each of which is a cartilaginous lamina; muzzle oblique. A well-
flavoured fish of a fine red colour.

Tr. lineata, L. ; Tr. adriatica, Gm.; Bl. 35; Rond. 295; Mar-
lens, Voy. to Venice, II, pi. ii. (The Lineated Gurnard). Tho
muzzle much more vertical, and the pectorals longer; the lines on
the flanks encircle the body like rings. It is brought to our markets
with the preceding species-} - .

Tr. hirundo,L.; Bl., 60 £. (The Swallow Gurnard). Neither
spines nor furrows on the sides; back brownish, sometimes reddish;
pectorals one fourth of its length, the inner side edged with blue. It
is the largest species taken on the coast of Europe, sometimes ex-
ceeding two feet in length.

Neighbouring species are found in India §.

Tr. lyra, L. ; BL, 350; Rond. 298. (The Lyre). The muz-
zle divided into two dentated lobes ; a stout spine on the operculum,
super-scapular, and particularly on the humeral; spines along the
dorsals; lateral line smooth; pectorals one third of its length; a
beautiful fish, bright red above and a silvery white beneath.

Tr. gurnardus, L. ; BL 58. (The Grey Gurnard). A pointed
spine on the shoulder and operculum; scales on the lateral line
slightly carinate; generally grey-brown above, spotted with white,
and white beneath; some of them, however, are reddish or red,
Common in the markets in France.

* Trigle, the Greek name of the Mullet; Artedi united these two genera, and,
since they have been separated, this name has been assigned to the Gurnards.
\ It is popularly but wrongly believed to be the female of the red Gurnard.
X It is the Tr. cuculus, of Brunnich.
§ They are new; we describe them in the fourth volume of our [cthyology.

102 FISHES.

Tr. cuculus, Bl., 59*. (The Cuckoo Gurnard). A neighbour-
ing species which is always red with a black spot on the first dorsaL

Tr. lucerna, Brun.; Rondel. 287 f. Scales on the lateral line
higher than they are wide ; the second dorsal spine prolonged into a
filament.

Tr. aspera; Viviani; Rondel., 296. Short muzzle, rough scales,
velvet head; sharp crests along the dorsals; temple emarginate.
These two last species are small, and peculiar to the Mediterranean £..
M. de Lacepede has separated three genera from Trigla:

Prionotus, Lacep.

American fishes resembling the Tr. hirundo. Their pectorals, how-
ever, are longer, and can support them in the air; their distinguishing
character, however, consists in a band of teeth, dense as the pile on velvet,
on each palatine §.

Peristedion, Lacep.

This genus has been separated from Trigla with still more propriety.
The whole body is mailed with large hexagonal scales, forming longitudi-
nal ridges; the muzzle is divided into two points, under which are branch-
ed cirri: no teeth.

P. cataphracla; Trigla cataphracta, L. ; Rondel., 299. Red;
a foot long; from the Mediterranean; the only species well known |[.
The best of these divisions is

Dactyloptertjs, Lacep.

The Flying Gurnards, so celebrated under the name of Flying Fishes;
the subpectoral rays are much more numerous and longer; and instead of
being free, as in the preceding ones, they are united by a membrane so as
to form a supernumerary fin, longer than the fish, which supports it in
the air for some time. Thus they are seen flying above the surface of the
water, in order to escape from Dolphins and other voracious fishes; they
fall into it again, however, in a few seconds.

Their extremely short snout has the appearance of a hare-lip; the
mouth is beneath, and the jaws are only furnished with rounded teeth, in
small patches, like paved compartments ; the helmet is flattened, rectan-
gular, and rough; the preoperculum terminates in a long and stout spine,,
which forms a powerful weapon ; all their scales are carinated.

* It is the Tr. hirundo of Brunuich; but it is neither the cuculus nor the hirundo
of Lin.

f It is not the Tr. lucerna of Lin., but his Tr. obscura, described Mus. Ad. Fred,
part II, and subsequently forgotten. The Tr lucerna, L., is a factitious species.

X Add the neighbouring species: Tr. papilio, Cuv. ; — -Tr. phalcena; — Tr. sphbtx;
described in our fourth volume of Icthyology.

§ Jr. punctata, Bl. 353 and 354; — Tr. strigata, Cuv., evolans, L., or lineatus, Mit-
chill, New York Trans., I, pi. iv, 4; — Tr. Carolina, L., or palmipes, Mitchill, I, cit.
Tr. tribulus, Cuv.

|| The fig. of Bloch, 349, is incorrect, and gives too many rays to the second dor-
sal. Several other species are found in the East Indies.

ACANTIIOPTERYGIANS. 103

D. volitans; Trigla volitans, L. ; Bl. 351, the Mediterranean
species, is a foot long ; brown above ; reddish beneath ; fins black,
variously marked with blue.

D. orientalis, Cuv. Russel, 161, is a neighbouring species from
the Indian Ocean.

Ctlphalacanthes, Lacep.

Have nearly the form, and particularly the head of the Flying Gurnards ;
differing from them, however, in the total absence of supernumerary fins
or wings.

C. spinarella; Gasterosteus spinarella, L. ; Mus. Ad. Fred. pi.
xxxii, f. 5. A very small species from Guiana, and the only one
known*.

Cottus, Lin.

The Bull-heads have the head broad, depressed, mailed, and vari-
ously armed with spines or tubercles ; two dorsals ; teeth placed in front
of the vomer, but none on the palatines; six rays in the branchiae, and
only three or four in the ventrals. The inferior pectoral rays, as in Tra-
chinus, are not branched; their caecal appendages are small in number,
and they have no natatory bladder.

Those that inhabit fresh water have a nearly smooth head, and but
one spine to the preoperculum ; their first dorsal is very low. The most
common species is,

C. cjobio, L.; Bl. 39, 1, 2. (The River Bull-head). A small
blackish fish, four or five inches in length.

The salt-water species are more spinous, and when irritated their head
becomes still more inflated. The French coasts have the following two,
which are called Sea Scorpions, &c.

C. scorpius, L. ; Bl. 40. (The Father-Lasher). Three spines
on the preoperculum. C. bubalis, Euphrasen, New Stockh. Mem.
VII, 95. Preoperculum with four spines, the first very long.
The Baltic Sea has a third species,

C. quadricornis, Bl. 108. (The Four-horned Bull-head). Dis-
tinguished by four quadrate and bony tubercles.

America and the north of the Pacific Ocean produce much larger
ones-j". A small species is taken in the latter, whose singularity of
form entitles it to notice : it is the

C. diceraus, Pall. ; Sinanceia cervus, Tilesius, Mem. Acad.
Petersb. Ill, 1811, p. 278. (The Stag-horn Bull-head). Internal
edge of the first spine of the preoperculum, which is nearly as long
as the head, furnished with six or eight prickles recurved very pro-
perly towards its base J. From this species has been separated,

* It is from Guiana, and not from India, as is still asserted.

t C. vlrginianus, Will. X, 15, or octodecim spinosus, Mitchill, New York, Trans.
IV, p. 380; — C. polyacanthjcephalus, Pall. Zool. Russ., &c.
t Add, C. pistilliger, Pall. Zool. Russ. Ill, 143.
N.B. The Cottus anostomus, Pall. Zool. Russ. Ill, 128, is the Uvanoscopus.

104 FISHES.

Aspidophores, Lacep. — Agonus, Bl. Schn. — Phalangista, Pall.

Which have the hody defended by angular plates like that of a Periste-
dion, and there are no teeth in the vomer.

A species is found on the coast of Europe, Cott. eataphractus, L.
BL A small fish but a few inches long, whose mouth opens beneath,
and the whole of whose branchial membrane is furnished with little
fleshy filaments.

The north of the Pacific produces several others, in one of
which the mouth is also beneath, and the branchial membrane
villous*.

In others the lower jaw projects beyond the upper one, and the
branchial membrane is smooth *j\

The jaws of some are equal, and the two dorsals separated J.

Finally, there is one in India that has but a single dorsal, Lacep.
has formed a genus for it, which he calls Aspidophoroide §.

Other groups have lately been observed, which are partly allied to
Cottus, and partly to Scorpama.

Hemitripterus, Cuv.

Have the head depressed, and two dorsals, as in Cottus; no regular
scales on the skin, but teeth in the palate. The head is bristly and spinous,
and has several cutaneous appendages. The first dorsal is deeply emar-
ginate, a circumstance which has led some authors to believe they had
three.

But one species is known from North America, Cottus triptery-
gius, Bl. Schn. ||, which is taken along with the Cod. From one to
two feet long, tinged with yellow and red, varied with brown.

Hemilepidotus, Cuv.,

Have the head nearly similar to that of a Cottus, but there is only one
dorsal ; the palatines furnished with teeth ; longitudinal bands of scales
on the body, separated by others which are naked. A thick epidermis
prevents these scales from being seen until the skin is dried.

The species known are from the north of the Pacific^.

* Phalangites acipenserinus, Pall., or Ag. acip., Tiles.

t Phal. lorieatus, Pall., or Agonus dodecaedrus, Tiles.; — Phal. fusiformis, Pall., or
Ag. roslratus, Tiles.; — Ag. lavigatus, Tiles., or Syngnalhus segaUensis, Id. Mem. Nat.
Mosc. II, xiv.

% Cottus japonicus, Pall. Spic. Zool. VII, v, or Ag. stegophlhalmus, Til. Mem.
Petersb. IV, xiii, and Voy. Krusenstern, pi. 87 ;— A 'g. decagonus, Bl. Schn. pi. xxvii.

§ Cottus monopterygius, Bl. 17S, 1 and 2.

|| It is also the Cottus acadianus, Penn. Arct. Zool. VIII, 371; the Cottus hispidus,
Bl. Schn. 63; the Scorpa-na flava, Mitchill, Ann. New York Lye. I, ii, 8; and per-
haps the Scorpana americana, Gmel. Duhamel, Sect. V, pi. ii, f. 5; hut this figure
must be very incorrect.

If Cottus hemilepidotus, Tilesius, Mem. Ac. Petersb. Ill, pi. xi, f.-l, 2, which is
probably the Coitus trarhurus, Pall. Zool. Russ. Ill, 138.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 105

Platycephalus, Bl.

This genus has been separated from Cottus for still stronger reasons.
The ventrals large, six-rayed, and placed behind the pectorals ; the head
is much depressed, with trenchant edges, and armed with spines, but
is not tuberculous ; the branchiae have seven rays, and they are covered
with scales ; a range of sharp teeth in the palatines, &c. They inhabit
the Indian Ocean, and bury themselves in the sand to watch for their
prey.

It is on this account that one species has been called the Insidia-
tor — Cottus insidiator, L.*

Scorp/ENA, Lin.

The Scorpions have the head like that of a Cottus, mailed and rough-
ened, but compressed on the sides ; body covered with scales ; several
rays in the branchiae, and back has but a single fin. If we except the
armature of the cheek, and the tubercles which frequently give them an
odd appearance, they closely approximate to certain Percoides, such as the
Acerinae and the Centropristes ; but though the inferior rays of their
pectorals, as in Cottus, are articulated, they are simple and not branched.

Scorp^na, Cuv.

The Scorpions, properly so called, have the head spinous, tuberculous,
and without scales ; teeth in both jaws and palatines dense as the pile on
velvet; irregular cutaneous cirri on different parts of the body.

Sc. scropha, L. ; Bl. 182; and better, Duham. sect. V, pi. iv.
(The larger Sea-Scorpion). Redder ; larger scales and more nume-
rous cirri.

Se. porcus, L. ; Bl. 181, and Duham. sect. V, pi. iii, x, 2. (The
Little Sea-Scorpion). Browner; scales smaller and more numerous.
They live in troops among the rocks; wounds from their spines are
considered very dangerous")-.

The Tvenianotes are Scorpions with a strongly compressed body,
whose very high dorsal is united to the caudal.

* It is also the Cottus spatula, Bl. 424, the Cotte madegasse, Lacep. Ill, ii, 12;
the Callionymus indlcus, L., Russel, 46, or Calliomore indien, Lacep. — Add, Platyc.
endrachtensis, Quoy et Gaym. Voy. Freycin. p. 353; — Cott. scaler, L., Bl. 189, Russ.
47; — the two species or varieties of Krusenstern, pi. 59; — the Sandkruyper of Renard,
part II, pi. 50, f. 210, and ten new species described in the fourth volume of our
Icthyology; but the Plat, undecimalis, Bl. Schn., is a Centropomus ; his PL saxatilis,
a Cychla, and his PI. dormitator an Eleotris.

N. B. The only foundation of the genus Centranodon, Lacep., is the pretended
Silurus imberbis of Houttuyn, which is a mere Platycephalus.

t Add, Sc. diabolus, Cuv., Duham. sect. V, pi. iii, f. 1 ;— Sc. bufo, Cuv., Parr.
XVIII, 1, c; — Sc. cirrhosa, or Perca cirrhosa, Thunb. New Stockhol. Mem. XIV,
1793, pi. vii, f. 2;— Sc. papulosa, Forst, Bl. Schn. 196;— Sc. Plumier, Lacep. I, xix,
3; — Sc. venosa, Cuv. Russ. 56, and several new species described in our 4th volume
of Icthyology.

106 FISHES.

Sebastes, Cuv.,

Possess all the characters of the Scorpions, except that there are no cu-
taneous cirri, and that the head is less rough and scaly.

There is a large species in the Northern Ocean, called the Ma-
nlike, and in some places Carp, the Sebastes norvegicus, Cuv. ;
Perca marina, Penn. ; Perca norvegica, Mull. Bonat. Encycl. Meth.
pi. Icthy. f. 210. It is red, and frequently upwards of two feet in
length. It is dried for the purpose of food, and its dorsal spines
are used by the Esquimaux as needles. The Mediterranean pro-
duces another, very similar, but which has fewer dorsal rays, the
Sebastes imperialis, Cuv. ; Scorpaena dactyloptera, Laroche, Ann.
Mus. XIII, pi. xxii, f. 9. Its palate is black, and it has no nata-
tory bladder, although the contrary is the case with the preceding
species*.

Pterois, Cuv.,

Have the characters of the Scorpions, properly so called, except that
there are no palatine teeth, and that the dorsal and pectoral rays are ex-
cessively elongated.

These fishes are from India, and were not less remarkable for
this singular prolongation, than for the pretty disposition of their
colours^.

Blepsias,

Have the head compressed; cheeks mailed; fleshy cirri under the lower
jaw; five branchial rays; ventrals very small, and one very high dorsal
divided by emarginations into three parts.

The only species known are from the Aleutian islands J.

Apistus

Have the palatine teeth and entire dorsal of the Scorpions; but the few
rays of their pectorals are all branched. Their distinguishing character
consists in a stout spine on the suborbital, which, inclining from the
cheeks, becomes a treacherous weapon §. They are all small.

Those of the first division have a scaly body, and some of these have
a free ray under a large pectoral||; others have ordinary pectorals, with-
out free rays^f .

* The pretended Sc. malabatica, Bl. Schn. 190, is a Sebastes, identical with the
species of the Mediterranean. — Add, Sc. capensis, Gmel. ; — Holoe. albofasciatus, Lacep.
IV, 372; — Perca variabilis, Pall., or Epinephelus ciliatus, Tiles. Mem. Acad. Petersb.
IV, 1811, pi. xvi, f. 1—6.

f Sc. volitans, Gm. Bl. 184; — Sc. antanata, Bl. 185; — Sc. Koemgii, Id. New Stock.
Mem. X, vii, and several new species described in our fourth volume.

% Blevnius villusus, Steller, or Trachinus cirrhosus, Pall. Zoog. Russ. Ill, 237, No.
172. Blepsias is a name descended to us from the antients without any characteris-
tic designation.

§ Greek, Apistos, perfidus, treacherous.

|| Ap. aplatus, Cuv., Russel, 160, B;— Scorp. carinata, Bl. Schn.

if Cotlus australis, J. White, New South, IV, 266; — Ap. tanianotus, Cuy., Lacep.

ACANTI10PTERYGIANS. 107

In a second division the body is naked ; some of these also have a free
ray under the pectoral*, and others are without themf.

Agriopus

Are deficient of the suborbital spine; the dorsal still higher than in
Apistes, and reaching between the eyes; their neck is elevated, muzzle nar-
rowed, mouth small and but slightly dentated, and the body without
scales j.

Pelor.

The Pelors, with the entire dorsal and palatine teeth of the Scorpions,
have no scales on the body ; they have two free rays under the pectoral ;
anterior part of the head flattened; eyes proximate, dorsal spines very
high, and almost free ; the suborbital spine of Apistes is wanting, and
their fantastic shape and monstrous aspect are alone sufficient to distin-
guish them from all other fishes. They inhabit the Indian Ocean §.

Synanceia, Bl. Schn.,

Have their forms not less hideous than the Pelors; their head is rough,
tuberculous, uncompressed, frequently enveloped in a lax and fungous skin ;
their pectoral rays are all branched; their dorsals are entire, and they
have no teeth, either in the vomer or palatines; their frightful appearance
induces the fishermen of the Indian Ocean, which they inhabit, to consi-
der them as venomous ||.

Lepisacanthes, Lacep. — Monocentris, Bl. Schn.,

Constitute a singular genus; the body is short, thick, and completely
mailed with enormous angular, rough, and carinated scales ; four or five
stout free spines supply the place of the first dorsal; each ventral con-
sists of an immense spine, in the angle of which some soft and almost im-
perceptible rays are concealed; head bulky and mailed; front gibbous;
mouth large; teeth in the jaws and palatines like the pile on velvet, but
none in the vomer; eight rays in the branchiae. But one species is known,
from the Japanese Sea,

Man. japonica, Bl. Schn. pi. xxiv; Lepisacanthe japonais, Lacep.
Six inches long, of a silvery white ^[.

IV, iii, 2, a figure intitled Teenianote large rale, but one which has nothing in com-
mon with the T. large raie, of the text, IV, 303 and 304, which is a Malacanthus,
and the same that is represented, III, xxviii, 2, under the name of Labre large raie;
— Perca cottoides, L., Mus. Ad. Fred. II, p. 84.

* Ap. minus, Cuv., Russel, 159; — Sc. monodactyle, Bl. Schn.

t The species are new, and described, as well as others of the preceding subdivi-
sions, in our fourth volume of Iethyology.

\ It is the Blenvius torvus of Gronov. Act. Helvet. VII, pi. iii, copied, Walb. Ill,
pi. 2, f. 1 ; or Coryphtena torva, 151. Schn., and some new species.

§ Pel. obscurum, Cuv., or Scorpcrna diductyla, Pall. Spic. Zool. VII, xxvi, iv; — .
Seb. Ill, xxviii, 3, or Trigla rubicunda, Hornstedt, Stockhol. Mem. IX, iii, and some
new species described in our fourth volume of Iethyology.

|| Scorpana horrida, L., Lacep. II, xvii, 2; and not so well, Bl. 83; — the Sc.
brachion, Lacep. Ill, xii, 1, or Syananceia verrucosa, Bl. Schn. pi. 4j; — Syn. bica-
pillala, Lacep. II, xi, 3.

If Gasterostem japonicus, Houtt. Ilarl. Mem. XX, part II, 299, or Sciccna japonica,
Tliunb. New Stockh. Mem. XI, iii, copied Bl. Schn. pi. xxiv.

108 FISHES.

Gasterosteus*, Cuv.

The Epinoches have also the cheek mailed, although the head is neither
tuberculous nor spinous, as in the preceding genera. Their peculiar cha-
racter is the freedom of the dorsal spines, and their not forming a fin, in
their pelvis, united to the humeral bones, being larger than usual, and thus
furnishing the abdomen with a sort of bony mail. Their ventrals, placed
farther back than the pectorals, are nearly reduced to a single spine ; there
are but three rays to the branchiae.

Some of them abound in the fresh waters of Europe.
Two species are confounded under the name of Stickleback, —
Gasterosteus aculeatus, L. (The Banstickle), which have three free
dorsal spines ; but the entire side of one of them, G. trachurus, Cuv.
Bl., pi. 53, f. 3, is covered with scaly plates to the very end of the tail.
These plates are only found on the pectoral region in the other, G.
gymnurus, Cuv. Willoughb., 341. Both these species are sometimes
so abundant in certain rivers in England and the north of Europe,
that they are used to manure the land, feed hogs, furnish oil, &c.y

G. pungitius, L. ; Bl. 53, 4, (The Lesser Stickleback), is the
smallest of the European fresh-water fishes ; nine very short spines
on the back ; sides of the tail with carinated scales ; another closely
allied species inhabits the same streams, G. Icevis, Cuv., in which
this armature is wanting. A separate subgenus might be made of
the

G. spinochia, L.; Bl. 53, 1, (The larger Stickleback), a salt-
water species, of an elongated and slender form, with fifteen short
dorsal spines, and the entire lateral line covered with carinated scales.
Its abdominal shield is divided in two ; and, besides the spine, there
are two small rays in the ventral.

After this family we place the

Oreosoma, Cuv.,

A small oval fish, whose whole body, above and beneath, is studded with
thick cones of a horny substance, like hills. There are four of them on
the back, and ten on the belly, arranged in two series, with several smaller
intermediate ones. It was discovered in the Atlantic by Peron J. The
third family of the Acanthopterygians, that of

* N. B. This name, which signifies bony belly, is only applicable to the Gasteros-
tei as we have defined them, and not to several of the Scomberoides, united with them
by Linnasus on account of their dorsal spines being free : these latter we refer to our

LlCHIA.

f Neighbouring species or three-spined Sticklebacks: G. argyropomus, Cuv.; — G.
brachycentrus, Cuv.; — G. tetracanlhus, Cuv., three Italian species; — G. noveboraccnsis,
Cuv.; — G. niger, Cuv., or biaculeatus, Mitchill, Ann. New York Lye. I, 1, 10; — G.
quadratus, Id. lb. f. 11; — G. cataphractus, Tiles. Mem. Acad. Petersb. Ill, viii, 1.

% The fig. and detailed description will be found in our fourth Vol. on Icthyology.
Orcosoma, a mountainous body.

ACANTIIOPTERYGIANS. 109

FAMILY III.

SCIENOIDES,

The Scienoides, lias close relations to the Perches, and even present
nearly similar combinations of external characters, particularly in the in-
dentations of the preoperculum, and in the spines of the operculum ; but
both vomer and palatines are without teeth; the bones of the cranium and
face are generally cavernous, and form a muzzle more or less gibbous.
The vertical fins are frequently somewhat scaly.

Some of the Scienoides have two dorsals, and others have but one;
among the former we first find the genus,

SCLENA,

Whose common characters consist of a gibbous head, supported by ca-
vernous bones, two dorsals, or one deeply emarginate, whose soft part is
much longer than the spinous ; a short anal, a dentated preoperculum, an
operculum terminating in points, and seven branchial rays. If it were
not for the absence of the palatine teeth, these fishes would resemble the
Perches. The entire head is scaly ; their natatory bladder is frequently
furnished with remarkable appendages, and the stones in the sac of the
ear are larger than in most fishes *. We divide this genus as follows :

ScijEna, Cuv.

The Scienoides, properly so called, have the spines of the anal weak;
neither canini nor cirri.

Sc. umbra, Cuv. ; Peisrey of Languedoc ; Fegaro of the Genoese ;
Umbrina of the Romans, &c. Six feet and more in length; nume-
rous branched appendages on each side of the natatory bladder. A
good fish, but it has latterly become rare on the coast of Europe j.

Otolithus, Cuv.

The Otolithes have the anal spines, as in the preceding, weak, and no
cirri; some of the teeth are elongated hooks, or true canines; the nata-
tory bladder has a horn on each side which is directed forwards. They
are found in America and India J.

* This determination of the genus Scisena is in accordance with the opinion of
Artedi ; it has been variously modified by Linnaeus and his successors, but in our
opinion not veiy successfully.

f Artedi having confounded it with the Scicena nigra, it is only latterly that it has
been again determined. See my Memoir upon this Fish in the Mem. du Mus., tome
I, p. 1 ; — Add the Maigre du Cap, or Labre hololepidote, Lacep. Ill, xxi, 2 ; — the Mai-
gre brule, which is the Perca ocellata, L., or Centropoiue ceille, Lacep., the Scicena im-
berbis of Mitchill, and the Lutjan triangle, Lacep. Ill, xxiv, 3.

% Ot. ruber, Cuv., or the P&che pierre of Pondicherry ; Juhnius ruber, 151. , Schn.,
p. 17; — Ot. versicolor, Cuv., Russel, II, cix; — Ot. regalis, Cuv., Johnius regalis, BL,
Schn., or Labrus squeteague, Mitchill, Ann. New York Lye. I, ii, G; — Ot. rlwmboi-
dalis, or Lutjan de Cayenne, Lacep. IV, p. 245; — Ot. striatus, Cuv., or Guatucupa,
Marcgr., Braz. 177, and several others described in our fifth Vol. of Icthyology.

1 10 FISHES.

Ancylodon.

A sort of Otolithus with a very short muzzle, excessively long canines,
and a pointed tail*.

Corvina, Cuv.

Neither canini nor cirri; all the teeth dense as the pile on velvet.
They also differ from the Sciasnoides and the Otolithus in the size and
strength of the second anal spine. One species is very abundant in the
Mediterranean.

Sc. nigra, Gra.; Corb noir, Bl. 297. A silvery brown; ventrals
and anal blaclcj".

Johnius, Bl.

The fishes of this subdivision are connected with those of the preceding
one by a nearly uninterrupted series, the second anal spine is merely
somewhat weaker and shorter than the subsequent soft rays. They are
found in India, where they form a considerable article of food, their flesh
is white and light ;£. They are also met with in Senegal §, and in Ame-
rica||.

Umbrina, Cuv.

Distinguished from other Sciaenoides by a cirrus under the symphysis of

the lower jaw.

A beautiful species is taken in the Mediterranean, — Scicena cir-
rhosa, L. ; Bl. 300, obliquely streaked with steel-colour on a gold
ground. It is a large and good fish, which has ten short caeca, and
a large natatory bladder furnished with some lateral, rounded sinuses^[.

The Lonchurus, BL, merely appear to differ from the Umbrinse in a
pointed caudal and two cirri on the symphysis **. The

Pogonias, Lacep.

Resemble the Umbrinae, but, instead of a single cirrus beneath the jaw,
there are several.

* Lonchurus ancylodon, Bl., Sclin., pi. XXV.

f Add, Corv. miles, Cuv., or Telia katchelee, Russ. 117; — C. trispmosa, Cuv., or
Bodianus stellifer, Bl. 331, 1 ;— C. oseula, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. Nov. 1822;—
Bola cuja, Buchan., Fishes of the Ganges, pi. xii, f. 27 ; — C.furcra>a, Cuv., Lacep. IV,
p. 424; and Bola editor, Buchan. XXVII, 24; Bodianus argyroleucus, Mitch. Ann.
New York Lye. I, vi, 3.

% The English of Bengal call it the Whiting. — John, maculatus, BL, or sarikulla,
Russ. 123;— J. cataleus, Cuv,, Buss. 116, or Bola chaptis, Buchan. X, 25. It is the
Lutjan diacanthe, Lacep. IV, 244; — J. anei, Bl. 357 ;—J.karutta, Bl. ;— J. pama, Cuv.,
Buchan, XXXII, 26.

§ J. senegalensis, Cuv., spec. nov.

|| J. humeralis, Cuv., or Labrus obliquus, Mitchill, which also appears to be the
Perca undulata, L.; — J. Xanthurus, or Leiostome, queue jaune, Lacep. IV, x, 1 ; — J.
saxatilis, Bl., Schn.

Tf The Cheilodiptere cyanoptere, Lacep. Ill, xvi, 3, is merely a rudely drawn Um-
brina. Add, Omb. Russelii, Cuv., Russel, 118; — Sc. nebulosa, Mitch. Ill, 5, which is
also the Perca albumus, L., Catesb. XII, 2;—Kingfish or Whiting of the United
States;— the Pogonathe dore, Lacep. V, 122, also belongs to this subgenus.

** Lonchurus barlatus, Bl. 360.

ACANTHOPTEHYGIANS. Ill

One of them is found in America, — Pog. fascc, Lacep. II, xvi*,
of a silver colour, when young marked with vertical brown bands,
which becomes as large as the aS'c. umbra, and, like it, has branched
appendages to the natatory bladder -j-. This fish produces a sound
still more remarkable than any of the other Scienoides, which has
been compared to that of several drums. Its pharyngeal bones are
furnished with large teeth as if paved J.

Eques, Bl.

This genus cannot be removed from these Scienoides with two dorsals.
It is known by the compressed and elongated body, raised at the shoulders
and ending in a point near the tail; teeth small and crowded; the first
dorsal is elevated, the second, long and scaly ; they all belong to AmericaS.

The Scienoides, with a single dorsal, are subdivided according to the
number of their branchial rays.

Those which have seven rays form various genera parallel to several
genera of the Perches ; their preoperculum is always dentated.

H^MULON, CllV.

A somewhat elongated profile, which has been thought to bear some re-
semblance to that of a hog; the lower jaw compressed and opening very
wide ; two pores and a little oval cavity under its symphysis ; teeth small
and dense as the pile on velvet. The parts of the lower jaw which enter
the mouth when it is closed, are generally of a vivid red, from which cir-
cumstance their name is derived )|. Their dorsal is slightly emarginate,
and its soft part scaly; they are all from America^.

Pristipoma, Cuv.

Have the same preoperculum, and the same kind of pores under the

* Lonchurus barbatus, Bl. 360.

f It is the Labrus grunniens, Mitch. Ill, 3 ; the Sciana fusca and gigas, Id., appear
to be the same species at a more advanced age, and every thing proves it to be also
the Labrus chromis, L.; finally, the Pogcnathe courbhie, Lacep. V, 121, is the same.
Add, Ombrina Fournieri, Desmar., Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat.; its cirri are almost im-
perceptible.

X They are figured by Ant. de Jussieu, Mem. de 1'Ac. des Sc. 1723, pi. xi.

§ Eques balteatus, Cuv., or Eq. americanus, Bl. 347, 1, or Chatodon lanceolattts, L.,
Edw., 210; — Eq. punctattts, BL, Schn., Ill, 2; Eq. acuminatus, Cuv., Grammi&tes
acuminatus, Bl., Schn.,Seb., III,xxvii, 33.

|| From the Greek aima, blood, and ulov, gum.

^f H(em. elegans, Cuv. or Anthias formosus, Bl. 323; — Ham. formo.ium, Cuv., or
Perca formosa, L., which is not the same as the preceding one, Catcsb., II, vi, 1; but
it is the Labre Plumierien, Lacep., Ill, ii, 2; and the Guaibi coara of Marcgr., p.
163, the fig. of which is transferred to the capeuna, p. 185; — Heem. heterodon, or
Diabase rayee, Desmar., Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. ; — Ham. caudimacula, Cuv., or Uri-
baco, Marcgr., 177; and Diabase de Parra, Desm., loc. cit. ; — Ham. capeuna, or Ca-
peuna, Marcgr., 155, and the fig., p. 163, of the Guaibi coara. It is the Gram-mist.
tr'miUatus, Bl., Schn., 188; — Ham. chrysopterum, Cuv., or Perca chrysoptera, L.,
Catesb., II, ii, 1, and several other species described in our fifth vol. of Icthyology.

112 FISHES.

symphysis as in Heemulon, but the muzzle is more gibbous, the mouth
not so deeply cleft, and the dorsal and anal are without scales. The oper-
culum terminates in an obtuse angle concealed in its membranous edge.
It is a very numerous genus, whose species are found throughout the hot
parts of both oceans*.

DlAGRAMMA, CtlV.

The cavity beneath the symphysis wanting, but the two small anterior
pores still remain ; besides which, there are two larger ones beneath each
branch. In every thing else, the jaws, opercula and fins are like those of
Pristipoma. They are found in both oceans : those of the Atlantic have
the largest scales j.

Those of India are the most numerous and have smaller scales, a more
convex front and a very short muzzle J.

The Scienoides with a single dorsal and less than seven branchial rays,
are still more subdivided : in some of them the lateral line extends to the
caudal; in others it is interrupted. Among the former we place the fol-
lowing genera :

LOBOTES, CuV.

A short muzzle; lower jaw prominent; body elevated; the posterior
angle of its dorsal and anal so elongated, that, with the rounded caudal,
it appears to terminate in three lobes. Four groups of extremely small
points are visible near the end of the jaw; they inhabit both oceans §.

Cheilodactylus, Lacep.

Have the body oblong ; mouth small ; numerous spiny rays in the dor-
sal ; inferior rays of the pectorals simple and continued beyond the mem-
brane, as in the Chirrhites ||.

* Pr. hasta, Cuv., Luljanus hasta, Bl., 246, 1; — Pr. nageb., Cuv. ; Sciana nageb.,
Forsk., or Labre Comersonien, Lacep., Ill, xxiii, 1; and Lutjan microstome, lb.
XXXIV, 2; — Pr. guoraca, Cuv., Russel, 132, or Perca grunniens, Forsk., or Anthias
grunniens, Bl., Schn., p. 305; — Pr. Paikelli, Cuv., Russel, 121; — Pr.caripa, Id., 124,
of which the A nth. maculatus, BL, 326, 2, appears to be a variety; — Pr. coro, Cuv.,
Seb., Ill, xxvii, 14, or Sciana coro, Bl., 307, 2; — Lutj. surinamensis, Bl., 253; — Spa-
ms virginicus, L., of which Perca juba, Bl. 308, 2; and Sparus vittatus, BL, 263, are
the young; — Coius nandus, Buchan, XXX, 32.

\ We know but one of them, of which the Lutjanus luteus, Bl. 247, appears to be
a bad figure.

J It is to them that the Plectorynque, Lacep., I, xiii, 2, must be referred. Add
the Sciana gaterina, Forsk.; — Sc. shotaf, Id.; — Diagr. lineatum, Cuv., or Perca dia-
gramma, L., Seb., Ill, xxvii, 18, or Anthias diagramma, BL, 320; — Diag. pacilopterum,
Cuv., Seb., Ill, xxvii, 17; — D. pictum, Cuv., Seb., Ill, xxvi, 32, or Perca picta,
Thunb. New Stockh. Mem., XIII, v; — D. pertusum, or Perca pertusa, Id.. lb., XIV,
vii, 1.

§ Holocentrus surinamensis, BL, 243, or Bodianus triurus, Mitch. III. f. 10, and
new species.

|| The Cheilod.fasce, Lacep., V. i, 1, or Cynadus, Gronov., ZoophyL, I, x, 1; — the
Cheil. of Carmichael, or Chatodon monodactylus, Id., Lin. Trans. XII, xxiv; — Cheil.
carponemus, Cuv., or Cichla macroptcra, BL, Schn., 342; — Cheil. zonatus, Cuv., or La-
brus japonicus, Tiles., Voy. Krusenst. pi. lxiii, f. 1.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS . Wo

SCOLOPSIDES, CllV.

Have the second infra-orbital dentated and terminating near the edge
of the orbit in a point directed backwards, which crosses another point of
the third infra-orbital running in a contrary direction. The body is ob-
long, the mouth but slightly cleft, the teeth small and dense as the pile on
velvet, and the scales large. There are no pores in the jaws. From the
Indian Ocean*.

Micropterus, Lacep.

Have the body oblong; three pores on each side of the symphysis; the
last rays of the soft part of the dorsal separated from the others, and form-
ing a small particular fin; operculum without dentation "f~.

Those Scienoides which have less than seven branchial rays and an in-
terrupted lateral line, form several genera of small, oval fishes, prettily
diversified in their colours, which may be distinguished as follows by the
armature of their head. They are manifestly related to the genus Cha?-
todon, and resemble, externally, several of our fishes with labyrinthian
branchiae.

Amphiprion X, Bl. Schn.

Have the preoperculum and the three opercular pieces dentated, the lat-
ter even furrowed; a single range of obtuse teeth §.

Premnas, Cuv.

Have one or two stout spines on the infra-orbital, and the preoperculum
dentated || .

PoMACENTRUS^[, Lacep.

Preoperculum dentated, operculum unarmed; a single range of tren-
chant teeth **.

* Scol.kate, Cuv., named by Bloch Anthias japonicus, 325, f. 2; — Anth. Vosmeri,
Bl., 321, a poor figure, and the same as the Perca aurata, Mungo Park, Lin. Trans.

III, 35; — Anth. bilineatus, Bl. 325, 1 ;— Scol. kuriata, Cuv. Russel. 106; — Scot. iy.
cogenis, Cuv., or Holoc. cilie, Lacep. IV, 371; — Scicgna ghanam, t Forsk., and several
new species.

f But one species is known, the Microptere Dolomieu, Lacep., IV, iii, 3. We have
also some few more Subgenera of this subdivision, which we shall speak of in our 5th
vol. of Icthyology.

% I greatly reduce the number of species of this genus, as composed by Bloch.

§ Amph. ephippum, BL, 250, 2; — Amph. bifasciatus, BL, 316, 2; — Amph. polymnus,
BL, 316, \;—percula, Cuv., or Lutj. perchot, Lacep., IV, 239, Klein., Misc., IV, xi,
8; — Amph. leucurus, Cuv., Renard, VI, 49, and various new species.

|| Clmtudon biaculeatus, BL, 219, 2, which is also the Helocentre Sonnerat, Lacep.,

IV, 391; and the Lutj. trifascialus, Bl„ Schn., 567; and Ksehlreuter, Nov. Com.
Petrop., X, viii, 6; Seb., Ill, xxvi, 29, is a variety of it; — Pr. Uiricolor, Cuv., Seb.
Ill, xxvi, 19, which is also the Scorpene aiguillonnee, Lacep. Ill, 268.

^| We define them differently from Lacepede, and greatly diminish their number
by divisions.

** Cluctodon pavo, BL, 19S, 1, which is the Pomacentre paon, Lacep., and his Holm:
diacanthe, IV, 338; — Pomacentrus cocruleus, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., pi. 64,
f. 2;— P. punctatus, lb., \:—P. cmurginaius, Seb. Ill, xxvi, 26, 27, 28; — the Hoi
negrillon, Lacep. IV, 367.

VOL. II. I

114 FISHES.

Dascyllus, Cuv.

The fishes of this genus only differ from those of the preceding one in
their teeth, which are very short and dense as the pile on velvet*. They
all inhabit the Indian Ocean.

Glyph isodon, Lacep.

Have the operculum and preoperculum entire ; a single range of trench-
ant and generally emarginated teeth.

They are found in the Atlantic -\, but the Indian Ocean produces
many more \.

Some of them are distinguished from the others by numerous
spines in the anal§.

Heliasus.

Have the opercular pieces of the Glyphisodon and teeth similiar to those
of a Dascyllus, that is, small and dense as the pile on velvet. They are
found in both oceans ||.

FAMILY IV.

SPAROIDES.

The Sparoides, like the Scienoides, have a palate destitute of teeth*
Their general figure and several details of their organization are the same ;
they are also covered with scales more or less large, but they have none
on the fins. Their muzzle is not gibbous, nor the bones of their head
cavernous ; there are neither indentations in their preoperculum, nor spines
on their operculum; their pylorus is furnished with csecal appendages.
They never have more than six rays in the branchiae. They are divided
according to the form of their teeth.

The first tribe, that of Sparus, properly so called, Cuv., have the sides
of the jaws furnished with round molars in the form of pavement; we
subdivide it into five genera.

* Chatodon aruanus, L., Mus. Ad. Fred. XXXII, Bl., pi. 198, f. 2.

f The Jacaraqua, Marcgr., or Cheelod. saxatilis, L., Mus. Ad. Fred., XXVII, 3,
which is also the Chat, marginatus, BL, 237; and his Ch.mauritii, 213, 1; and the
Ch. sargoide, Lac.; hut it is not the Ch. saxatilis, Bl., 20C, 2;— Ch. curassao, BL, 212.

\ Chatod. bengalensis, BL 213, 2, or Labre macrogastere, Lacep., Ill, xix, 3; — Gl.
melanurus, Cuv., or Labre 6-bandes, Lacep., Ill, xix, 2;—Chcet. sordidus, Forsk., or
Calamoia po/a, RusseL, 85;— Gl. sparoides, Cuv., Lacep., IV, ii, \;—Gl. lachrymal us,
Cuv., Quoy et Gaym., Freycin., pi. 62, f. 7;— Gl. azureus, lb., pi. 64, f. 3;— Gl. uni-
oeellalus, lb., f. 4.

§ Cluetod. suratensis, Bl. 217 ;— Cheelod. mamlatus, BL, 427.

[| The species are new; we describe them in our 5th vol. of Icthyology.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 115

Sargus, Cup.

Trenchant incisors in front of the jaws almost similar to those of Man.

Several of them which differ but little from each other inhabit the
Mediterranean, and are even found in the gulf of Gascony. Their
colours consist of vertical black bands on a silver ground*.

Some have emarginated incisors -j\

The round molars of others are on a single line and very small.
From the Mediterranean J.

Chrysophris, Cuv.

Have round molars on the sides of the jaw, forming at least three rows
on the upper one ; a few conical or blunt teeth in front. Two species in-
habit the European seas.

Chr. auratus; Sparus aurata, L. BL, 266 §, and much better,
Duham. Sect. IV, pi. 2. Four rows of teeth above; five below,
one of which is oval and much larger than the others : a large and
excellent fish called Chrysophris — golden eye-brow — by the an-
tients, on account of a crescent-shaped band of a golden hue which
extends from one eye to the other.

Chr. microdon, Cuv. Colours nearly the same as in the aurata;
smaller; the forehead more gibbous; only two rows of molars be-
low, all of which are as broad as they are long, or broader; the
large oval one is wanting ||.

Pagrus.

The Pagres differ from the Chrysophris in having but two rows of
small rounded molar teeth in each jaw; the front teeth either resemble
those of a card, or are small and crowded.

Pagr. vulgaris; Sparus pagrus, L. and Arted. Silvery, with a
reddish gloss; no black spot. The Mediterranean**.

* The Sargue de Rondelet {Sargus raucus, Geoff.), Eg. Poiss. pi. xviii, 1, Ronde-
let, 122; — Sp. panlazzo of Risso; — the Sargue de Salvia?ii (Sargus vulgaris, G.), Eg.
XVIII, 2; Salviani, fol. 179, Pise. 64; — the Sparaillon (Sargus annularis, L.),
Rondel. 118; Salv. 63; Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, pi. xxiv, f. 13; — Sp. ovis, Mitch.,
or Sheepkead of the United States.

f Perca unimaculata, Bl. 308, 1, or Salema, Marcgr. 153; — Sparus crenidens,
Forsk., probably belongs to this subdivision.

% S. punlazzo, Gm., or Sp. acutirostris, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, xxiv, 12, of
which Risso makes his genus Charax.

§ The teeth belong to another species, and those of the true Chr. aurata are figured
pi. 74, as appertaining to the Anarrhichas.

|| Add: Sparus bufonites, Lacep. IV, xxvi, 2, the same as his Sp. perroquet, lb. 3;
and perhaps as the Sp. haffara, Forsk. 33; — Sp. sarba, Forsk. 22; — Chr. chrysargyra,
Cuv., Chitchillee, Russel, 91; — Sp. hasta, Bl. Schn. 275, or Sp. berda, Forsk. 33; —
Sp. calamara, Cuv. Russ. 92; — Scicena grandoculis, Forsk. 53; — Chcetodon bifasciatus,
Forsk., which is also the Labre chapelet, Lacep. Ill, iii, 3, his Spare mylio, lb.
XXVI, 2, and his Holocenlre rabagi, IV, Suppl. 725, &c.

** It is also the Sp. pagrus of Brunnich, but not that of Bloch; the latter has not
figured the true Pagrus, which is the Sp. argenteus of his posthumous " System."

i 2

110 FISHES.

The Indian Ocean and the coast of the United States produce some of
these fishes, whose first dorsal spines are prolonged into filaments*.

Others taken at the Antilles are remarkable for the first interspinal of
their anal fin, which is hollow and terminates in a beak like a pen; the
point of the natatory bladder runs into this kind of funnel. They are
called Sardes a plumes f.

A more remarkable peculiarity is that of a Cape Pagrus, whose
maxillaries are enlarged and as solid as stone. We call it Pagrus
lithognathus.

Pagelus, Cuv.

The Pagels have teeth very like those of the preceding genus; but the
molars, also in two rows, are smaller; the front conical ones are slender
and more numerous. A more elongated muzzle gives a very different
physiognomy to this genus. Several species are found in the European
seas.

Pag. erythrinus; Sparus erythrinus, L. ; Bl. 274. A fine fish,
of a silver colour, with a pale rose gloss ; body high and compressed.
Pag. centrodontus ; Sp. centrodont., Laroche; the Rousseau of
the Marseillais; the Besugo of the Spaniards; Ann. Mus. XIII,
xxiii, 2. Silvery, glossed with rose ; a large, irregular black spot on
the shoulder J.

Pag. aearne, Cuv., the Acarne, Rondel. 511; Sparus berda of
Risso, but not of Forskhal. Smaller and more oblong ; silvery, tinged
with greenish towards the back ; no bJack spot.

Pag. bogaraveo; Sp.bogar., Gm. ; Rondel. 137. (TheBogueravel).
More oblong; muzzle more pointed; gilt tinged with violet; a black
spot on the axilla.

Pag. mormyrus; Sp. mormyms, L. ; Rondel. 153; Geoff. Eg.
Poiss. pi. xviii, 3. Vertical black bands on a silver ground.

In the second tribe there is but one genus,

Dentex, Cuv.

Characterized by conical teeth even on the sides of the jaws, generally in
one range, some of the anterior of which are drawn out into large hooks.
They would be rather closely allied to the genus Hsemulon were it not
that the indentation of the preoperculum is wanting, and that they have
one ray less in their branchiae The cheek is scaly. Two species are
found in the Mediterranean.

D. vulgaris ; Sparus dentex, L. ; Dentale of the Italians, Bl. 2G8.

Silvery, shaded with bluish, towards the back ; sometimes three feet

in length §.

* Sparus spinifer, Forsk. ; — Sp. argyrops, L., or Labrus versicolor, Mitch,
f Pagr. calamus and Pagr. penna, Cuv.
X It is the Sparus pagrus, BL, pi. 262.

§ Add, D. macrocephalus, Cuv., or Labre macrocephale, Lacep. Ill, xxvi, 1 ; Sf,

cynodon, Bl. 278; — Dentex hexodun, Quoy et Gaym. Voy. Freycin. 301.

ACANT1IOPTERYGIANS. 117

D. macropldhahnus ; Sp. macropkth., Bl. 272. Red, with very
large eyes ; much rarer than the preceding, and about half its size.

We distinguish from the other species of Dentex, by the name of Pen-
tapoda, those whose mouth is less cleft, head more scaly, body less ele-
vated, and whose caudal is covered with scales to the end*.

By that of Lethrinus, we distinguish such as have no scales on the
cheek ; most of them, as in Hcemulon, have some red about the angle of
the jaws -j-. All these fishes have a pointed scale between the ventrals,
and one above each of them.

A third tribe is also composed of a single genus,

Cantharus, Cuv.

Teeth short and dense as the pile on velvet, or bent and crowded like
cards all round the jaws; those of the external row being the strongest;
body elevated and thick; muzzle short; jaws not protractile. Two species
are found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Canth. vulgaris; Spams canth., L. ; Rond. 120, and Duham.,
sect, iv, pi. iv, f. 1. Silver-grey, longitudinally striped with brown;
some small rough teeth behind the bent ones.

Canth. brama; Sparus brama, L. About the same colour; all
the teeth bent J.

In a fourth tribe the teeth are trenchant. It comprises two genera,

Boops, Cuv.

Teeth of the external row trenchant, mouth small and not at all pro-
tractile. Several species are found in the Mediterranean.

B. vulgaris; Sparus boops, L. ; Rond. 136; La bogue vulgaire.
Twenty-four teeth in each jaw, with an oblique, cutting edge; the
body oblong, with longitudinal gold-coloured stripes on a silver
ground.

B.salpa; Sparus salpa, L. ; Bl. 265; La Saupe. More oval;
stripes of a more brilliant gold, on a ground of burnished steel; teeth
broad and emarginated.

Oblada, Cuv.

Differ from Boops in having small crowded teeth behind the incisors,
which somewhat approximates this genus to Cantharus.

Ob. melanurus; Sparus melanurus, L. ; Salv. 181. Silvery,
striped with blackish ; a broad black spot on each side of the tail.

* Sparus vittatus, Bl. 275;— the Sp. rayk d'or, Lacep. IV, 131, and some new
species.

f Spar, cheerorhynchus, BL, Schn. 278;— Bodian lutjan, Lacep. IV, 294;— Ktirwa,
Russel, 89; — Sciana mahsena, Forsk., p. 52, No. 62; — ScLena harak, Id.

% The fig. of Bloch, 2(59 and 270, intended to represent these two species, convey
no correct idea of them.

118 FISHES.

We are able to form a fifth family of Acanthopterygians,

FAMILY V.

MENIDKS,

The Menoid Fish, which differ from the preceding families in the ex-
treme extensibility and retractibility of their upper jaw, which is owing to
the length of the intermaxillary pedicles which withdraw between the orbits.
Their body is scaly, as in Sparus, in which genus they have hitherto been
placed.

MiENA, CUV.

The Mendoles are distinguished from a true Sparus by having their
teeth dense as the pile on velvet, in a narrow and longitudinal band on
the vomer. Those also in the jaws are all extremely fine, forming a very
narrow band. The body is oblong, compressed, and somewhat similar to
that of a Herring; an elongated scale above each of the ventrals, and an-
other between them. Several species inhabit the Mediterranean.

M. vulgaris; Sparus mcena, L. ; Bl. 270. (The Common Men-
dole). Back lead colour; belly silvery; a black spot on the flank
opposite the last spine of the dorsal.

M.jusculum, Cuv. (The Juscle), only differs from the common one
in having a narrower body, a shorter muzzle, and a higher dorsal.

M. radiata; Sparus radiatus, Osbeck; Sp. tricuspidatus, Spinola;
Ann. Mus. X, pi. xviii. (Osbeck's Mendole). A deep steel-blue;
oblique blue streaks on the cheek ; blue spots on the ventrals ; the
dorsal still higher.

Smaris, Cuv.

The Picarels do not absolutely differ from the Mendoles, except in the
total deficiency of teeth in the vomer; their body is generally somewhat
less elevated. Some of them are found in the Mediterranean.

S. vulgaris; Sparus smaris, L. ; -Le Picarel commun, Laroche,
Ann. Mus. XIII, pi. xxv, f. 17. (The Common Picarel). Lead-
grey above ; silvery beneath ; a black spot on the flank.

S. alcedo, Riss., so called from the beautiful blue with which its
body is variegated.

S. cagarella, Cuv. (The Cagarel Picarel). The body as high as
that of the Mcena vulgaris, from which it only differs in having no
palatine teeth.

Cesio, Lacep.

Only differs from Smaris in a dorsal somewhat higher in front, and sur-
rounded at its base with fine scales. They inhabit the Indian Ocean, and
are shaped so as nearly to resemble a spindle*.

* Casio asuror, Lacep. Ill, 86, or Vadium, Valent. 132, or Canihire doutenx. Diet
Class. d'Hist. Nat. livr. IV; — C. smarh, Cuv., or Vaclcum mare, Renard, I, pi. 32,

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 119

Gerres, Cuv. — Mocharra, in South America,

Also have the mouth protractile, but, in extending itself, it descends ; their
body is elevated, the anterior part of the dorsal in particular, along the
base of whose posterior portion is a scaly sheath. They have no other
teeth than those in the jaws, which are small and crowded. The first in-
terspinal of their anal fin is tabular as in certain Pagri. They are excel-
lent food, and inhabit the hot parts of both oceans*.

G.rhombeus, Cuv.; Sloane, II, pi. 253, f. 1, (The Rock Barbs of
Jamaica), a species that is said to penetrate occasionally as far as the
coast of Cornwall, following pieces of wood covered with Anatifae,
carried there by the currents -f"

The sixth family of the Acanthopterygians, or

FAMILY VI.

SQUAMIPENNES,

Is so called, because the soft, and frequently the spinous parts of their
dorsal and anal fins are covered with scales, which encrust them, as it
were, and render it difficult to distinguish them from the mass of the body.
This is the most remarkable character of these fishes, the body of which
is generally much compressed, the intestines long, and the caeca numerous.
They were comprised by Linnaeus in the genus

Ch,£todon, Lin.

The Chaetodons, so named from their teeth, which in length and tenuity
resemble bristles, collected in several close rows like the hairs of a brush.
Their mouth is small ; their dorsal and anal fins are so completely covered
with scales similar to those on the back, that it is extremely difficult to
ascertain where they commence. These fishes, very abundant in the seas
of hot climates, are adorned with the most beautiful colours, a circumstance
which has led to the collection of them in museums, and to numerous gra-
phic representations of the species. Their intestines are long and ample,
and their caeca long, slender, and numerous ; their natatory bladder is large
and very strong. They frequent rocky shores, and their flesh is good for
eating.

f. 174; — Bodianus argentius, Bl. 231, or Picarel raillard, Quoy etGaym. Zoo]. Freycin.,
pi. 44, f. 3;—Sparus cuning, Bl. 263, or Cychla cuning, Bl. Schti., p. 336. M. de La-
cepede also makes a Ccesio of the Scomber, equula of Forskhal, or Centrogastcr equula
of Gmelin, which is our Equula caballa.

* Labrus oyena, Forsk. Rupp. Voy. Poiss., pi. Ill, x, 2, or Spare breton, Lacep. IV,
134, or Labre long museau, Id. Ill, xix, 1, and p. 467; — Gerres aprion, Cuv., Catesb.
II, xi, 2 ; — G. rhombeus, Cuv., or Stone-bass, Sloane, Jam. II, pi. 253, f. 1 ; — G. poieti,
Cuv., Ren., pi. ii, f. 9, Valent., No. 354 ; — G. tinea/us, Cuv., or Smaris lineatus, H umb.
Zool. Obs. pi. xlvi, f. 2; — Gerres argyreus, Cuv., or Sciwia argyrea, Forster, or Cychla
argyrea, Bl. Schn.; — G. flamentosus, Cuv., or JVordawahah, Russ., f. 68.

f Couch, Lin. Trans. XIV, part I, p. 81.

120 FISHES.

The Ch^todons, properly so called,

Have the body more or less elliptical ; the spinous and soft rays continuing
in a pretty uniform curve ; the snout projecting more or less, and some-
times a very small indentation in the preoperculum. They have a mutual
resemblance in some respects, as in the distribution of colours, and most
of them, for instance, are marked with a vertical black band, in which is
placed the eye.

In some there are several other vertical bands parallel to the former*.
In others they are oblique or longitudinal "f\

The flanks of some are sprinkled with brown spots J.

Others again are merely marked with lines of reflections in various di-
rections; in this it is merely the ocular band§; and in that, in addition,
are ribands on the vertical fins ||.

One or two ocellated spots are observed in some^[.

Some of these Chaetodons, properly so styled, are distinguished from
the others by a filament formed by the prolongation of one, or several of
the soft rays of the dorsal**.

Finally, some are remarkable for the very small number of the spines
of their dorsals ff (a).

Chelmon, Cuv.

Separated from Cha?todon on account of the extraordinary form of the
snout, which is long and slender, only open at the extremity, and formed
by a most excessive prolongation of the intermaxillary and lower jaw.
Their teeth are very fine, and dense as the pile on velvet, rather than like
hairs.

One species, Chcet. rostratus, L., Bl. 202, has the faculty of
spurting drops of water on the insects it perceives on the shore, and

* Chcet. striates, L., Bl. 205, f. \;—Ch. octofasciatus, Gm., Bl. 215 ;— //. collare,
Bl. 216.

f Chest. Meyeri, Bl., Schn., improperly called Holocanthe jaune et noir by Lacep.
IV, xiii, 2.

X Chcet. miliaris, Cuv. Zool. Voy. Freycin., pi. 62, f. 5.

§ Chcet. Kleinii, Bl. 218, 2;— Ch. Scbce, Cuv., Seb. Ill, xxvi, 36.

|| Chcet. vittalus, BL, Schn., Seb. Ill, xxix, 18; — Ch.vagabundus, Bl. 204; — Ch. cle-
cussatus, Cuv., Russ. 83; and Klein, Misc. IV, ix, 2; — Ch. bifascialis, Cuv., Voy. de
Freycin., pi. 62, f. 5; — Ch. strigangulus, Gm.; — Ch. baronessa, Cuv., Renard, I, xliii,
218; — Ch. frontalis, Cuv.. or Pomacentre croissant, Lacep.; — Ch. fasciatus, Forsk., or
Ch.ftavus, BL, Schn., No. 37.

^f Ch. nesogallicus, Cuv., Ren. I, v, 37; and Will. App. V, 4; — Ch. capistratus, L.,
Seb. Ill, xxv, 16, Mus. ad Fred. XXXIII, 4;— Klein. Misc. IV, xi, 5;—Ch. bimacu-
latus, BL 219, 1; — Ch. plebeius, Gm.; — Ch. unimaculatus, Bl. 201, 1; — Ch. sebanus,
Cuv., Seb. Ill, xxv, 11;— Ch. ocellatus, BL 211, 2.

** Chcet. setifer, Bl. 426, 1; — Ch. auriga, Forsk.; — Ch. principalis, Cuv. Ren., part
II, lvi, 239, Valent., No. 407.

•f-f These species are new, as well as many others which belong to preceding sub-
divisions — they will be described in our Icthyology.

ggp° (a) Freycinet relates, in his Voyage round the World, that in wading tbrough
the coral reefs at the island of Guam, in search of Mollusca, he was assailed by a very
small Chaetodon, not higger than his hand: the animal butted the hand, and obsti-
nately resisted every attempt to drive it away. The Naturalists, from this circum-
stance, gave it the name of Ch. bellicosus. — Eng. Ed.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 121

thus bringing them within reach. It is a common pastime of the
Chinese at Java*.

Heniochus, Cuv.,

The Coachmen, differ from the true Chaetodons, because the first spines of
the back, and particularly the third or fourth, rapidly increase in length,
forming a filament sometimes double the length of the body, and resem-
bling a kind of whipf.

Ephippus, Cuv.,

The Horsemen, are distinguished by a dorsal deeply emarginated between
its spinous and soft portions; the spinous part, which has no scales, can
be folded into a groove formed by the scales of the back.

In one of the subdivisions there are three spines in the anal fin, and
oval pectorals.

America produces a species (Eph. (j'ujas, Cuv.) remarkable for the
very great enlargement into the shape of a club of the first inter-
spinal of its dorsal and anal fins, and by a similar enlargement of the
crest of the cranium \.

In a second subdivision from the Indian Ocean, there are three spines
in the anal, and long and pointed pectorals §.

A third, also from the Indian Ocean, has four anal spines, and very
small scales.

One species, Chcstodon argus, L., Bl. 204, 1, has the reputation
of feeding, by preference, upon human excrements ||.

Another species of this same subdivision has been discovered in a
fossil state in Mount Bolca^[.
The Taurichtes are the Horsemen of India, which have an arcuated
and pointed horn over each eye**.

Holacanthus, Lacep.,

Have for their distinguishing character a large spine at the angle of the
preoperculum, and the edges of the same bone, in most species, dentated.
Their flesh is excellent, and they are remarkable for the beauty of their
colours, and the regularity with which they are distributed. Numerous

* Sehlosser, Trans. Phil. 1767, p. 39. — Add, Ch. longirostris, Brousson, Dec.
Icthyol.

f Chcetodon macrolepidotus, L., Bl. 200, 1; — the Chat, acuminatus, L., Mus. Ad.
Fred. XXXIII, f. 2, appears to be a mere individual variety of it; — the Chat, cor-
nutus, I-., Bl. 200, 2, of which the Chat, canescens, L., Seb. Ill, xxv, 7, is only a
young uncoloured specimen.

X Add, Chatodon faber, Brousson, pi. 212, 2, of which the Chat. Plumicri, Id. 211,
1, may be a variety; — Chat, orbis, Bl. 202, 2.

§ Chat, punctutus, L., or Latte, Russ. 79; — Chat, longimanus, Bl. Schn., Russ. 80;
—Eph. terla, Cuv., Russel, 81.

|| Add, Chat, tetracanthus, Lacep. Ill, xxv, 2.

if Ittiolitologia Veronese, pi. v, f. 2, where it is figured as the Argus, but it is a
different species.

** The Buffalo-fish of the Malays, Tnurich/i/s varius, Cuv., well figured by Hen.
I, xxx, 1C1, Valent, No. 71 ;— T. viridis, Hen. [I, x, 49, Valent. No. Mil.

122 FISHES.

species abound in both oceans*. Their form is oval or oblong; we may
separate from them the

POMACANTIIUS, CuV.,

In which the form is more elevated; a circumstance resulting from the
more sudden rise of the edge of the dorsal-]-. The only species known
are from America.

Platax

Have in front of their brush-like teeth a row of trenchant ones, each
divided into three points; the body, strongly compressed, seems to be con-
tinued into thick, vertical, elevated, and scaly fins, in whose anterior edge
some few spines are concealed, so that the whole fish is much higher than
it is long; very long ventrals. The whole of the subgenus are found in
the Indian OceanJ.

One species, Ch. arthriticus, Bell. Phil. Trans. 1793, pi. vi, of a
more orbicular form, is remarkable for the knots or enlargements in
some of its interspinals and spinous apophyses §.

A fossil species of this subdivision has also been discovered at
Mount Bolca||.

Psettus, Commers.,

Have, with the figure somewhat resembling that of a Platax, the teeth
small and dense as the pile on velvet, and the ventrals reduced to a single
small spine, without soft rays.

The form of some is elevated^f; that of others round or oval**; they
are all from the Indian Ocean.

PlMELEPTERUS, LdCep.,

Are distinguished from all other fishes by a single range of teeth placed
in a horizontal base or heel, on the anterior edge of which is a part verti-

* American species, Chat, ciliaris, L , Bl. 214, or Isabelita, Parra, VII, 1, or
Chat, couronne, Desmar. Dec. Icthyol.; — Chat, tricolor, Bl. 425; Duham. Sect. IV,
pi. xxiii, 5. India species, Chat, bicolur, Bl. 206, 1 ; — Ch. mesoleucos, Bl., or meso-
melas, Gm., Bl. 216, 2; — Holoc. amir alis, Cuv., Ren. I, xvi, 92; — Ch. annularis, Bl.
215, 2; — Ch. imperator, Bl. 194; — Ch. fasciatus, Bl. 195; — Ch. nicobariensis, Bl. Schn.
50, or Geometricus, Lacep. IV, xiii, 1; — Hoi. Lamarlc, Lacep. IV, 531, Renard, I,
xxvi, 144, 145, and several new species.

f Chat, atireus, Bl. 193, 1, or Chirivita jaunc, Parra, VI, 2; — Chat, paru, Bl. 197,
or Chirivita noir, Parr. VI, 1; — Ch. H-cinclus, Cuv., Guaperva, Marcgr. 178; — Ch.
arcualus, L., Bl. 204, 2.

% Chat, vespertilio, Bl. 199, 2;—Ch. te'ira, lb. I; — Ch. guttulatus, Cuv., Ren. II,
xxiv, 129.

§ It is also the Ch. pentacanthe, Lacep. IV, xi, 2, and the Ch. orbicularis, Forsk.,
or Acanthinion orbiculaire, Lacep. IV, 500.

|| Ittiol. Veron. pi. 4 and 6.

^f Psett. Seba, Cuv., Chatodon rhombeus, Bl. Schn., Seb. Ill, xxvi, 21 j — Ps.
rhombeus, Cuv., or Scomber rhombeus, Forsk., or Centrogaster rhombeus, Gm., or Cen-
tropude rhomboidal, Lacep., Russ. 59.

** Psett. Commersonii, Cuv., or Monodactyle falciforme, Lacep., II, v, 4, and III,
131, which very probably does not differ from the Chat, argenleus, L., or Acanlho-
pode argente, Lacep.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 123

cal and trenchant. The hody is oblong, the head obtuse, and the fins
thickened by the scales which cover them; from which circumstance their
name is derived*. They are oval fishes, smooth, and covered with brown
scales; they inhabit both oceans -f-.

A neighbouring genus is that of

DlPTERODON J,

Which has the teeth also trenchant, but cut sloping and not geniculate,
and the spinous portion of the dorsal separated from the soft part by
deep emargination. The Cape, or

Dipt, capensis, Cuv., is the only species known.
The following genera, which we place next to Chastodon on account of
their scaly fins, differ greatly from it, however, in the teeth with which
their palatines and vomer are furnished. The genus

Brama§, Bl. Schn.,

The Sea-Breams, are connected with this family by the scales covering
the vertical fins, which have but a small number of spinous rays concealed
in their anterior edges ; but they have slender teeth placed like cards in
the jaws and palatines, an elevated profile, very short snout, a forehead
descending vertically, and a mouth, when shut, that is almost vertical; the
scales extend as far as on the maxillaries; there are seven rays in the
branchiae; alow dorsal and anal, but commencing m a salient point; a
short stomach ; a small intestine, and only five caeca.

But one species is known, Sparus Raii, Bl. 273; it inhabits the
Mediterranean, and sometimes strays into the ocean; an excellent
fish of a burnished steel colour, which attains a large size, but is in-
fested with various species of intestinal worms.

Pempiieris, Cuv.,

Have a long and scaly anal, the dorsal short and elevated ; head obtuse ;
the eye large; a small spine on the operculum; small crowded teeth in
the jaws, vomer, and palatines. From the Indian Ocean ||.

* Pimelepterus (fat fin). This genus of Lacepede, IV, 429, formed from Bosc, is
the same as that of Xistere, V, 484, formed from Commerson; and there is every
reason to believe that the Dorsuaire, Lacep. V, 482, which is certainly identical with
the Kyphose, III, 114, may very possibly also be the same as the Xisterus.

+ The Pimeloptere bosquien, Lacep. IV, ix, 1, or Chcetodon eyprinaceus, Brousso-
net; — the Pirn, marciac, Quoy et Gaym. Voy. Freycin. pi. 62, f. 4; — Pirn, du Cap, or
Kiphose double bosse, Lacep. Ill, viii, 1; — a Brazil species, formerly named by
Bankes Chcetodon ensis.

\ This genus, the name of which is borrowed from Lac6p., does not, however,
contain the same species.

§ I strongly suspect that it is the Brama which M. Rafinesque has in view, in his
Lepodus saragus, Nouv. Gen. No. 144. Shaw makes two species of it, but why,
it is impossible to say, the Sp. Raii, and Sp. castaneola ; the latter after Lacep.; but
Lacep. made his genus only for the species of Bloch and Ray.

|| Pempheris touca, Cuv., Sparus argenteus, J.White, App. 267, or Kurlus argen-
tens, Bl. Schn. 164;— P. mangula, Cuv., Russ. 1 14;— P. molucca, Cuv., Ren. I, xv,
85, and Valent. No. 46.

124 FISHES.

Toxotes, CllV.

The Archers have the body short and compressed; the dorsal placed
on the last half of the body, with very stout spines, the soft part, as well as
that of the anal which corresponds to it, scaly; the snout depressed, short;
lower jaw projecting beyond the upper one; the teeth quite as dense as
the pile on velvet in both jaws, on the extremity of the vomer, palatines,
pterygoids, and on the tongue ; six rays in the branchiae, inferior edge of
the infra-orbital and preoperculum finely serrate. Their stomach is wide
and short, with twelve caacal appendages to the pylorus ; natatory bladder
large and thin.

The species known, Toxotes jacvlator, Cuv, ; Labrus jaculator,
Shaw, vol. IV, part II, p. 485, pi. 08*, from Java, is celebrated for
the same faculty that distinguishes the Chest, rostratus, of spurting
drops of water on the insects which adhere to aquatic plants, to
bring them down for the purpose of seizing them. It can force the
water to a height of three or four feet, and rarely misses its aim.

The seventh family of the Acanthopterygians, or

FAMILY VII.

SCOMBEROIDES,

The Scomberoid Fishes, is composed of a multitude of fishes with
small scales, a smooth body, numerous caeca frequently united in clusters,
and whose tail and caudal fin in particular are extremely powerful.

This is a family of the greatest utility to man, by the size of its fishes,
by their agreeable flavour, and their inexhaustible reproduction, which
brings them periodically into the same latitudes, where they constitute the
object of the most extensive fisheries.

Scomber, Lin.

The Scombers have the first dorsal entire, while, on the contrary, the last
rays of the second, as well as those of the anal, which correspond to them,
are detached, forming what are termed false or spurious fins, or pinnce
spurice. The genus is subdivided as follows :

Scomber, Cuv.

The Mackerels have a fusiform body covered with uniformly small and
smooth scales ; two little cutaneous crests on the sides of the tail ; an
empty space between the first and second dorsal.

Sc. scombrus, L., Bl. 54. (The Common Mackerel). Blue back,
varied with black undulating streaks ; five false fins above and be-

* It is also the Scarus Schlosseri, Gm., Lacep. and Shaw, the Scuenajaculatrkx of
Bonnatere, the Labre sagittaire of Lacep., and the Coins chatareus of Buchanan.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 125

neath. They visit in summer our sea-coasts in great abundance, and
afford as large a supply of fresh and salt fish as the herrings. Some-
times they may be seen at other seasons; those which are caught in
the early part of the spring are well known, in the sea-ports of
France, under the title of Sansonnets. The Common Mackerel has
no natatory bladder ; but, and it is a singular fact, that organ is found
in several other species, so similar to it, that some attention is neces-
sary to distinguish them ; such are the little Mediterranean Mackerel,
Sc. colias; Sc. pneumatophorus, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII; and
the Sc. grex, Mitch. Ann. New York Lye. I, 423, which is some-
times seen on the coast of the United States, in countless numbers,
&c*

Thynnus, Cuv.

The Tunnies have round the thorax a sort of corslet formed by scales
larger and smoother than those on the rest of the body; a cartilaginous
carina between the two little crests on the sides of the tail; the first dor-
sal extends so far as to be very close to the second.

Sc. thynnus, L. (The Tunny). This is the large fish which has
been taken in the Mediterranean, from a very antient date, and by
the astonishing abundance in which it is caught, and converted into
oil, salt fish, &c, constitutes a great source of wealth to Provence,
Sardinia, Sicily, &c. It is said to attain the length of fifteen and
eighteen feet, and has nine spurious fins above, and as many beneath ;
the pectorals are one-fifth of its whole length. Several neighbour-
ing species inhabit the Mediterranean, which have hitherto been but
badly distinguished.

Sc. brachypterus, Cuv. ; the Alicorti, Rondel., 245, and Duham.,
Sect. VII, pi. vii, f. 5. Pectorals but one-eighth of the whole
length.

Sc. thunina, Cuv.; La Tonine, Aldrov. 315; Descrip. de l'Eg.
Poiss. pi. xxiv, f. 5. A brilliant blue marked with black lines, un-
dulated and curved in various ways, &c. It is also in this first
group that we must place the

Sc. pelamys, L., Lacep. II, xx, 2. (The Tropical Bonita, or
Rayed-belly Tunny). Four longitudinal blackish bands on each
side of the belly-f-. The

Orcynus, Cuv.

The Germons only differ from the Tunnies in the extremely extended
pectorals, which are one-third of the entire length, and reach beyond the
anus.

Sc. alalonga, Gm. ; Germon of the Biscayans ; Alalonga of the
Italians; Duham. Sect. VII, pi. vi, f. 1, under the improper name
of Tunny; Willoughb. App. pi. x, f. 1, is taken in the Mediterra-

* Add, Scomber vernalis, Mitch, loc. cit.; — Sc. canagurta, Cuv., Russ. 136.
t Add, Sc. coretla, Cuv., Sloane, Jam. I, 1, 3; — Davgiri mangclang, Renard, I,
Kxvi, 189.

123 FISHES.

nean, with the Tunny, and in summer visits the gulf of Gascon}',
in numerous bodies, where it constitutes an important fishery. The
back is a blackish blue, gradually fading into the silvery white of the
belly. It is frequently found to weigh eighty pounds; its flesh is
much whiter than that of the Tunny.

Auxis*, Cuv.

The Auxides have, with the corslet and moderate pectorals of the
Tunny, the dorsals separate, as in the Mackerels. One species inhabits
the Mediterranean.

Sc. bisus ; the Bonicou, or Scombre Laroche, of Risso; Rafin.
Caratt. pi. ii, f. 1; Egypt., XXIV, 6. Back of a fine blue; oblique
blackish lines; flesh a deep red.

Another is taken in the Antilles, called the Thon, or Tunny,
which attains a size equal to that of the European Tunny +.

Sarda J, Cuv.

The Sardes are distinguished from the Tunnies solely by their separate,
pointed, and very strong teeth.

Sc. sarda, Bl. 334; Aldrov. 313; Salvian. 123; Belon, 179§.
The only species known, but common in the Black Sea and Medi-
terranean. It is blue, the back obliquely streaked with blackish;
remarkable for the extreme length of its gall-bladder; a fact well
known to Aristotle ||. It also inhabits both oceans.

Cybium^j, Cuv.

The Tassards have the body elongated, and without a corslet; large,
compressed, trenchant teeth, resembling lancets; palatine teeth dense as
the pile on velvet. Several species are found in the hot parts of both
oceans; some of them become very large**.

TlIYRSITES-j-f, Cuv.

The Thyrsites differ from the Tassards in the anterior teeth, which are

* Auxis. antient name of a fish of the Tunny family.

+ Add, the Tasard, Lacep. IV, p. 8; — the Albacore, Sloane, Jam. I, 1, 1.

% Sarda was the antient name of the Tunny that was caught and salted in the
Western Ocean.

§ It is the Amia of the antients, and of Rondelet, 238; the Sarda of Rond. 248,
is the young of the same species. It is also the Scomber palamitus of Rafin.; the Sc.
ponticus, Pall. Zool. Russ.

|| Arist. Hist. II, c. xv. The gall-bladder of the common Tunny is equally as
long.

^f Cijbium, the antient name of a dish prepared from the Tunny and from another
fish of the same family.

** C. Commersonii, Cuv., Sc. Commersonii, Lacep., or Koiiam, Russ. 135; — C. lineo-
latum, Cuv., Mangelang, Russ. I, vii, 53; — C. guttatum, Cuv., or Sc. guttatus, Bl.
Schn. pi. v, Vingeram, Russ. 134; — C. maculatum, or Sc. maculatus, Mitch. Ann.
New York Lye. I, vi, 8; — C. Regale, Cuv., or Sc. regalis, Bl. 333, which is also the
Scnmberomore Plunder, Lacep. Ill, 293; — C. cavalla, or Guarapuca, Marcgr. 178.

ft The antient name of some fish of this family.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 127

longer than the others, and in having pointed, palatine teeth ; no lateral
carina to the tail.

This little subgenus leads insensibly to Lepidopus and to Trichi-
urus *.

GEMPYLUsf, CUV.

The Gempyles are similar to Thyrsites in the jaw-teeth, but there are
none in the palate, and the ventrals are almost imperceptible; an addi-
tional mark of affinity with Lepidopus J.

Xiphias, Lin.

The Espadons, or Sword Fishes, belong to the family of the Scombe-
roides, and approach the Tunnies, particularly in their excessively small
scales, in the carina? on the sides of their tail, in the power of their caudal
fin, and in their whole internal organization. Their distinguishing cha-
racter consists in the beak, or long ensiform point or tusk, which termi-
nates their upper jaw, and supplies them with a most powerful weapon of
offence, with which they attack the largest sea animals. This beak is
chiefly composed of the vomer and intermaxillaries, being strengthened at
its base by the asthmoid, frontals, and maxillaries. Their branchiae are
not pectinated; each of them being formed of two large parallel lamina?,
the surface of which is reticulated §. They swim with astonishing swift-
ness, and their flesh is excellent.

Xiphias, Cuv.

The Sword Fishes, properly so called, have no ventrals. But one spe-
cies is known (a).

Xiphias gladius, L. (The Common Sword-Fish). The point
horizontally flattened and trenchant like the broad blade of a sword;
sides of the tail strongly carinated. It has but one dorsal, which
rises from before and from behind; the middle of it becoming worn
with age gives it the appearance of being double. It is one of the
largest and best fishes of the European seas, frequently attaining the
length of fifteen feet. It is more common in the Mediterranean
than in the Atlantic Ocean. A parasitic crustaceous animal || pene-

* Scomber dentatus, Bl. Schn., or Sc. atun, Euphrasen and Lacep., or Acinacee
bdlarde, Bory St. Vincent.

\ The antient name of an unknown fish.

X Gempylus serpens, Cuv., or Serpens marinus compressus liridus, Sloane, I, 1,
f. 2.

§ This led Aristotle to say that the Xiphias has eight branchiaj.

|| Improperly named by Gmelin, the Pennatula filosa.

g5P° (a) Another species is well known to British Icfhyologists, the X. Notistium,
or Flying Sword-Fish. It possesses distinct ventral fins, and the dorsal being high
and long enables this fish to swim with such velocity that its beak, striking against
the stout oak plank of a ship, will pierce it. In the British Museum, in the Eleventh
Room, may be seen in a case over the fire-place, a remarkably fine prepared spe-
cimen of this rare fish; the spectator will also see beside it, a piece of oak plank
belonging to an East Indiaman, which had been pierced by one of the same species,
but much larger than the specimen. — Eng. Ed.

128 fishes.

trates into its flesh, and sometimes renders it so furious that it
dashes itself on shore*.

Tetrapturus, Rafin.

Have the point of the muzzle shaped like a stilet; each ventral consist-
ing of a single non-articulated blade; two small salient crests on each
side of the base of the caudal as in the Mackerel.

One species inhabits the Mediterranean, the Aiguille of the Sici-
lians, Tetrapturus belone, Rafin., Caratt. pi. i, f. 1.

Makaira, Lacep.

Have the stilet-shaped point of the muzzle _ and two small crests of a
Tetrapturus, but the ventrals are wanting.

But a single specimen has ever been seen, and that was captured

at the island of Reen in 1802. It is the Mak. noiratre, Lacep.;

Xiphias makaira, Sh."j~

Istiophorus, Lacep. — Notistium, Herman.

The Sails have the beak and caudal crests of a Tetrapturus, but the
dorsal is very high and serves them for a sail when swimming; their long
and slender ventrals are composed of two rays.

There are several imperfectly determined species, one of which
inhabits the Indian Ocean, Scomber gladius, Broussonet, Acad, des
Sc. 1786, pi. x; Xiphias velifer, Bl. Schn. ; Xiphias platisterus,
Shaw, IV, part II, p. 101, and was long ago described J.

All the fishes of this genus attain a very large size.

Centronotus, Lacep.

The Centronotes comprise a great genus of Scomberoides characterized
by the spines, which, in the Acanthopterygians in general, form the an-
terior portion of the dorsal, or a first separate dorsal, but in them arc
free and unconnected by a common membrane ; they all have ventrals.
They are subdivided as follows:

Naucrates, Rafin.

The Pilots have free dorsal spines ; body fusiform ; a carina in the
sides of the tail as in the Tunny, and two free spines before the anal fin.

The common species, or the Fanfre of the sailors of Provence ;

* N.B. The Xiph. imperator, Bl. Schn., pi. 21, taken from Duham. Sect. IV,
pi. xxvi, f. 2, is merely a copy of a bad figure given by Aldrovande (Pise. p. 332), for
that of the common Xiphias. This species must consequently be suppressed.

f It yet remains to be seen whether this was not a Tetrapturus that had lost its
ventrals. The fig. of Lacep. IV, xiii, 3, is taken from the rude drawing of a
fisherman.

\ It has also been figured by Nieuhof, App. ; Willoughb. App. pi. V, f. 9, by
Renard, I, pi. 34, f. 182, and 11, pi. 54, f. 233; by Valentyn, No. 527. The Gue-
bucu, Marcgr. 171, hardly appears to differ from the species of India, Bl. 345; is a
falsified copy of a figure of Pr. Maurice, which differed much less from that of
Marcgrave.

ACANTIIOPTERYGIANS. 129

Gasterosteus ductor, L. ; Scomber ductor, Bl. 338, (The Pilot-Fish),
is blue, with broad vertical bands of a much deeper blue. The name
of Pilot-Fish owes its origin to the fact, that it follows vessels to
seize upon what may fall from them; and, as a similar habit is ob-
served in the Shark, it has been said that the former acts as a guide
or pilot to the latter ; it is not above a foot long.

A black species is found at Brazil, the Ceixupira, Marcgr. 158;
Scomber niger, Bl. 337, which is eight or nine feet in length.

Elacates

Have the general form of the Naucrates, and their free dorsal spines;
but the head is horizontally flattened, and both the caudal carina and the
free spines before the anal are wanting*.

Lichia, Cuv.
The Lichia have the free spines on the back, and two others, also free,
before the anal ; body compressed, and the tail without the lateral carina?.
In front of the dorsal spines is a single one, laid flat, and pointing for-
wards.

Three species inhabit the Mediterranean, all of which are eatable,
and already well characterized by Rondelet.

L. amia; Scomber amia, L. ; the Lichia proper, or Vadigo, Ron-
delet, 254; Amia, Salv. 121. The lateral line strongly covered or
forming an S ; a large species more than four feet in length, and
weighing a hundred pounds.

L. glauca; Sc. glaucus, L. ; the Derbio, Rondel. 252. The
lateral line nearly straight; the anal and second dorsal marked with
a black spot in front; teeth small and crowded.

L. sinuosa, Cuv.; Rond. 255. (The Sinuous Lichia). The

blue on the back separated from the silvery hue on the belly by a

zigzag line; the hooked teeth in a single range j-.

Lacepede separates from the Lichia, by the name of Scomberoides,

which is not very appropriate, those species where the last rays of the

second dorsal and of the anal are divided into spurious fins, as in the

Mackerels J. The

Traciiinotus, Lacep.
From which his Acanthinions and Ccesiomores do not generically
differ, are Lichia with an elevated body, and a more vertical profile, and
the dorsal and anal tapered into longer points §.

* El. mntla, Cuv., Pedda mot/ah, Russel, 153; El. americana, Cuv., Centronotus
spbtosus, Mitch. Ann. cit. Nov. I, iii, !), which is probably the Gasterosteus canaden-
sis, L. ; and some new species.

f Add, Seomb. calcar, Bl. 336, f. 2.

X Scomb. Forsteri, Bl. Schn., or Scomberdidc Commersonien, Lacep. II, xx, 3, or
Aken parah, Russ. 141; — Tolparah, Russ. 138; — Sc. aculealus, Bl. 336, 1; — Sc. lysan,
Forsk. ; — Sc. salient, Bl. 335: and Lacep. II, xix; — Gasterosteus occidentalis, L.,
Brown. Jam. xlvi, 2; — Quiebra-acha, Parra, xii, 2.

§ Chatoion glaucus, Lacep. 210, or Acanthinion bleu, Lacep. IV, 500; — Chat,
rhomboides, Bl. 209, or Ac. rhomboide, Lacep.; — Gast. ovalus, L., or Moohalee jmrah,
Russ. 154; — Casiomore Block, Lacep. Ill, iii, 2; — Scomber falcatus, Forsk.; — Ccesi-
omore baillon, Lacep. Ill, iii, 1; — Bollah-parah, Russel, 142.
VOL. II. K

130 FISHES.

Rhynchobdella, Bl. Schn.

Have free spines on the back as in Centronotus, and two free spines be-
fore the anal, but, as in a true Xiphias, the ventrals are wanting; the
body is elongated. They are divided into two subgenera. In

Macrognathus, Lacep.

The muzzle is prolonged into a cartilaginous point, which extends
beyond the lower jaw; the second dorsal and the anal are distinct from
the caudal*.

Mastacembelus, Gronov.

The two jaws about equal, and the dorsal and anal almost united with
the caudal -f. Both subgenera inhabit the fresh waters of Asia and feed
on worms, which they obtain from the sand. Their flesh is much
esteemed.

This is perhaps the proper place for a genus not yet well under-
stood. The

Notacanthus, Bl. — Campi lodon, Oth. and Fab.

The body much elongated, compressed, and covered with small soft
scales; the obtuse muzzle projects in front of the mouth, which is armed
with fine and closely-set teeth ; nothing on the back but free spines ;
ventrals behind and beneath, or on the abdomen; a very long anal reaches
to the tip of the tail, where it unites with a very small caudal.

Not. vasus, Bl. 431. The only species known; it inhabits the
Arctic Ocean, and is two feet and a half in length.

Seriola, Cuv.

The Serioles present all the characters of a Lichia; a horizontal spine
before the first dorsal; a small free fin supported by two spines before the
anal; body compressed; a lateral line without carina or armature; but
the spines of the first dorsal are united into a fin by a membrane.

One species, the Peche lait (Milk Fish) of the French at Pon-
dicherry; Scomber lactarius, Bl. Schn. ; Russ. 108; is remarkable
for the great delicacy of its flesh.

Another, Seriola cosmopolita, Cuv. ; Scomber chloris, Bl. 339,
is noticed as one of the few fishes common to both oceans j.

There is a species whose last dorsal and anal ray is detached,
Seriola bipinnulata, Cuv.; Zool. de Freycin., pi. 61, f. 3.

* Rynehobdella orientalis, Bl. Schn., or Ophidism aculeatum, Bl. 159, 2, or Mn-
crognate aiguiUonne, Lacep. II, viii, 3; — Rh. polyacuntha, Bl. Schn., or Macrogvate
arme, Lacep.; Buchan, pi. xxxvii, x, 6; — Rh. oral, Bl. Schn., pi. lxxxix; — Mucrvg.
puncalus, Buchan, xxii, 7.

f Rhynchobdella lialepensis, Bl. Schn.; Gronov. Zooph., pi. viii, a, x.

% Add, Seriulc Dumeril, Risso; — Scomber fasciatus, BL .'311; — Seriule de Rafinesqae,
Risso, or Trachurus aquilus, Raft". Caratt. xi, 3.

ACANTUOPTF ItYGIANS. 1.31

Nomeus, Cuv.

The Shepherds, which for a long time were placed among the Gobies*
are related in many particulars to the Serioles, but their extremely large
and broad ventrals, attached, to the belly by their internal edge, give them
a very peculiar character.

Norn, mauritii, Cuv.; the Harder, Marcgr. 153. A species
from the American seas; silvery, with transverse black bands on the
back *.

Temnodon, Cuv.

The Temnodians have the tail unarmed; the small fin, or free spines
before the anal, of the Serioles; the first dorsal is very slight and low,
the second and the anal covered with small scales; but their principal
character consists in a range of separate, pointed and trenchant teeth in
each jaw ; behind these, above, is a row of small ones, and the vomer,
palatines and tongue are furnished with others, very small and crowded.
The operculum terminates in two points, and there are seven rays in the
branchia?.

Tern, saltator, Cuv. The only well known species; it is about
the size of a Mackerel, and one of the small number of fishes com-
mon to both oceans -j-.

Caranx, Cuv.

Scomberoides characterized by a lateral line more or less mailed with
scaly plates or bands, carinated and frequently spinous. They have two
distinct dorsals, a horizontal spine before the first; the last rays of the
second but slightly connected, and sometimes separated into spurious fins;
some spines free, or forming a small fin before the anal.

Several species inhabit the seas of Europe, resembling the Mackerel in
form and flavour, and remarkable for the bands or plates which cover their
lateral line, commencing from the shoulder.

They are confounded under the name of Saurels, Bastard
Mackerel, &c. — Scomber trachurus, L. ; but they differ in the num-
ber of bands J and the more or less sudden curvature of the lateral
line. Species very similar to those of Europe are found as far as
New Zealand.
In some, the plates merely cover the posterior and straight part of the

* It is the Gobius Cronovii, Gmel., the Gobiomore Grtmovien, Laeep., the Eleotris
mauritii, Bl. Schn., and the Scomber zonatus, Mitch. Ann. Op. cit. I, iv, 3, — it attains
the size of a Salmon. The other Harder of Marcgr. Braz. 1GG, appears to be a
Rlugil. Harder or Herder (Shepherd), is a name applied by Dutch sailors to various
fishes for reasons similar to those which have induced European mariners to call the
Naucrates, Pilot-fish, &c. It is even possible that from the resemblance of the
black bands, our Nomeus may have been confounded with it.

t We possess specimens which scarcely differ from each other, from Alexandria,
the United States, Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, and New Holland. It is the Cliei-
lodiptere heptacanthe, Lacep. Ill, xxi, 3, copied from Commerson, and his Pomatome
skib, IV, viii, 3, from Bosc. It is also the Perca saltatrix, L. ; Catesb. II, viii, 2, or
Spare sauleur, Lacep. Add, Perca antarctica, Carmich., Lin. Trans. XII, xxv?

X There are from seventy to a hundred of these bands.

K 2

132 FISHES*

lateral line, its anterior and arcuated portion being furnished with small
scales. Some are fusiform, and of these, one has a single spurious dor-
sal and anal fin*, another has several-]-, but most of them have none J.

Others again, which have a more elevated body, but still retain the
oblique and but slightly convex profile, are remarkable for a single range
of teeth §.

Some fishes of this genus, termed Carangues by the French sailors,
have an elevated body and a sharp profile, curved into a convex arch,
and descending suddenly. The species are very numerous in both
oceans.

C. caranqus; Scomber carangus, Bl. 340. (The Carangue of
the Antilles). Silvery, with a black spot on the operculum, and
frequently found to weigh from twenty to twenty-five pounds ; an
excellent fish. A very similar species, but in which the black spot
is wanting, the

Guaratereba, Seb. Ill, xxvii, 3, (The Bastard Carangue), is, on
the contrary, very apt to prove poisonous ||.

We might also distinguish those species which have no teeth**, and
those, the points of whose second dorsal and anal are extremely elongated,
which I have designated by the name of Citul;e -j~f.

We are thus gradually led to fishes which may be united under the
common name of

Vomer,

which become more and more compressed and elevated, where the arma-
ture of the lateral line successively diminishes, and the skin becomes fine,
satiny, and without any apparent scales, which have no other teeth than
those dense as the pile on velvet, and which are distinguished from each
other by various prolongations of some of their fins.

Linnaeus and Bloch placed them, but improperly, in the genus Zeus.
We divide them as follows:

Olistus, Cuv.
Differ from Citula, inasmuch as the middle rays of the second dorsal are

* Kurra-woodagahwah, Russ. 139;— Car. punctatus, Cuv., called Scomber hippos,
by Mitch., New York, op. cit. I, v, 5, but which is not the hippos of Linnaeus;—
Curvaia pinima, Marcgr. Braz. 150.

f Scomber Rotleri, Bl. 346, and Russel, 143;— Sc. cordyla, L., but not his syno-
nymes, which are Carangi.

X Scomb. crumenophtalmus, Bl. 343; — Sc. Plumieri, Bl. 344, the same as the Sc.
ruber, 343, and as the Caranx Daubenton, Lacep. Ill, 71.

§ Scomb. dentex, BL, Schn. ■— Caranx lune, Geoff. Saint-Hil., Eg. Poiss. xxiii, 3, to
which the Citula Banshii, Riss., 2d ed. VI, 13, and perhaps the Trachurus imperialis,
Rafin., Car. XI, 1, are, at least, closely allied.

|| Add, the Scomb. hippos, L., which is the Sc. chrysos, Mitch.; — Ekalah parah,
Russ. 146, perhaps the Scomb. ignobilis, Forsk.;— Car. sex-fasciatus, Qnoy et Gaym.,
Zool 1- reycin. pi. 65, f. 4;— Jarra dandree parah, Russ. U7 ;— Scomb. K/einii, Bl.
347, 2;— Sc. Sansun, Forsk. ; — Kuguroo-parah, Russ. 145; — Talan-parah, Id. 150, or
Scomb. malabaricus, Bl., Schn.;— Wooiin-parah, Russ. 148.

** Scomb. speciosus, Lacep. Ill, 1, 1, or Polooso- parah, Russ. 149, of which the
Car. petaunsta, Geoff., Egypt. XXIII, 1, appears to be the adult.

Tt Tchaivil-parah, Russ. 151 ;— Mais-parah, Id. 152.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 133

not branched, but merely articulated, and are extended into long fila-
ments*.

Scyris, Cuv.

Have the same filaments, and nearly a similar form; but the spines which
should form the first dorsal are entirely hidden in the edge of the second.
The ventrals are short')".

Blepharis, Cuv.

Have long filaments to the second dorsal and anal; ventrals much pro-
longed, the spines of the first hardly piercing the skin J; body elevated;
the profile not more curved than usual.

. Gallus, Cuv.

Have the profile more vertical than in Blepharis, but all the other cha-
racters similar §.

Argyreyosus, Cuv.

The profile still more elevated; the first dorsal decidedly marked, and
some of its rays prolonged into filaments like those of the second. Their
ventrals also are much lengthened |j. In

Vomer, properly so called,

The body is compressed, and the profile vertical, as in Gallus and Ar-
gyreyosus, but there is no prolongation to any of the fins^[. The genus

Zeus, Lin.

After abstracting the Galli and Argyreyosi, &c, comprehends fishes with
a compressed body, an extremely protractile mouth like that of the Me-
nides, and having but few and weak teeth. They require, however, to be
greatly subdivided.

Zeus, Cuv.

The Dories have dorsal emarginate, its spines accompanied by long slips
of the membrane ; a series of bifurcated spines along the base of the dorsal
and the anal.

Z.faber, L., Bl. 41. (The Common Dory). Yellowish, with a

* The species is new.

t The Gal. d'Aletandrie, Geoff*., Eg. Poiss. XXII, 2.

X Zeus eiliaris, Bl. 196; — Zeus sutor, Cuv., the Cordonnicr of Martinique.

§ Zeus gallus, L., Bl., or Gurrah-parah, Russ. 57; — Chewoola-parah, Id. 58.

|| Zeus vomer, Mus. Ad. Fred, xxxi, 9, and better, Bl. 93, 2, or Abacatuia, Marcgr.
161; — Zeus rostratus, Mitch., op. cit. II, 1. N. B. The Zeus niger, Bl. Schn., is
founded on a mistake; a figure of the Abacatuia, in the work of Marcgrave, p. 115,
being placed next to the description of the Guapcrva or Chatodon arcuatus. The
Selene argent&e, Lacep. IV, ix, 2, is an Abacatuia, whose first dorsal and ventrals hid
been worn. His Selene quadravgulaire is the Chat, faber.

^f Zeus setapiiinis, Mitch., op. cit. I, 9, Labat. Voy. de Desmarchais, I, p. 312.

134 FISHES.

round black spot on the flank; an excellent fish, that is sometimes
styled the Fish of St. Peter (a).

Z. pungio, Cuv. ; Rond. 828, is another species, distinguished by
a stout bifurcated spine on the shoulder. From the Mediterranean.

Capros, Lacep.

Have the emarginated dorsal of the Dories, and a mouth still more pro-
tractile; but no spines along the dorsal and anal; the entire body covered
with very rough scales.

But one species is known, Zeus aper, L., which is small and yel-
lowish. It inhabits the Mediterranean*. The

Lampius, Reizius. — Chrysotosus, Lacep.

Have but a single dorsal, highly elevated before, as is the case with the
anal; and which has but one small spine at the base of its anterior edge.
There are ten very long rays to each ventral; the lobes of their caudal
are also very long, but all these prolongations become worn away with age ;
sides of the tail carinated.

Lamp, guttatus, Retz. Violet spotted with white, and has red

fins-}-. It attains a large size, and inhabits the Arctic seas; the only

species known.

Equula, Cuv.

The Equula have only a single dorsal, but with several small spines,
the anterior of which are sometimes very long; the snout highly protrac-
tile; body compressed; edges of the back and belly dentated along the
fins. They are small fishes, several species of which inhabit the Indian
Ocean J.

The snout of some of these species, when in a state of quiescence, is
singularly retracted ; by suddenly protruding it they are enabled to seize
upon such small fishes or insects as may pass within reach §.

* It is also the Perca pusilla of Brunnich.

f It is the Zeus regius, Bonn at. Encycl, Icthyol., f. 155; the Z. imperialis, Shaw,
Nat. Misc., No. 140; the Z. luna, Gmel.j the Z. guttatus, Brunnich, Soc. des Sc. de
Copenh. Ill, 3SS; the Scomber pelagicus, Gunner, Mem. de Drouth. IV, xii, 1; the
Chrysotose lune, Lacep. IV, ix, 3; the Moon-Fish, Duham., Sect. IV, pl.vi, f. 5; the
Qpah of Pennant, &c.

% The type of this genus is the Scomber equula of Forskhal, of which Gmelin has
made his Centvogaster equula, and Lacep. his Casio poulain. Add, Eq. ensifera, Cuv.,
or Scomber edentulus, Bl. 428, or Leyognathe argente, Lacep.; — Eq. caret, Cuv., Buss.
G6; — Eq.fasciata, Cuv., or Clupea jasciata, Lacep. V, p. 4(53, Mem. du Mus. I, xxiii,
2;— Eq. splendens, Cuv., Buss. 61;— Eq. daura, Cuv., Buss. 65; — Eq.totta, Buss. 62;
— Eq. ccma, Buss, et Seb. Ill, xxvii, 4, 63; — Eq. rucotiius, Buchan, XII, 35; — Eq.
minuta, Cuv., or Scomber mivutus, Bl. 429, 2, which may very possibly be the same
as the Zeus argentarius, Forster, IX, Schn. 96.

§ tq. insidiatrix, Cuv., or Zeus iftsidiator, Bl. 192, f. 2 and 3.

££\ (a) The legend on which this title is founded represents the Dory to have
been the iish from which St, Peter took the tribute money, and the impression of his
finger and thumb on the sides of its body were destined to commemorate the miracle.
— Eno. Ed.

ACANTHOPTERYGJANS. 135

Mene, Lacep.

Have the snout of an Equula, and the entire body more compressed; ab-
domen trenchant, and very convex beneath; a circumstance resulting
from the development of the bones of the shoulder and pelvis, while the
dorsal line is almost straight, which throws the ventrals behind the pec-
torals.

But one species is known, the Mene Anne-Caroline, Lacep. V,
xiv, 2, or the Zeus maculatus, Bl., Schn., pi. xxii, Paissel, 60. It
is of a fine silver colour, spotted with blackish near the back. From
the Indian Ocean.

Stromateus, Lin.

Possess the same compressed form as is found in the different species of
Zeus, and similar diminutive and slightly apparent scales, under a satiny
epidermis; but the snout is obtuse and non-protractile: a single dorsal
whose few spines are concealed in its anterior edge ; no ventrals. The
vertical fins are sufficiently thick to tempt us to approximate them also to
the Squammipennes. Independently of the ordinary lateral line, there is
a stria on the flank which has been considered as a second one. The
oesophagus is armed with a number of spines which are attached to the
velvet by radiating roots.

S.fiatola, L.; Belon, Aquat. 153; Rondel. 493*. A pretty,
oblong species, inhabiting the Mediterranean, remarkable for spots
and interrupted bands of a golden tint, on a lead-coloured ground.

S. stellatus, Cuv., from the coast of Peru, is nearly similar in
form, but is sprinkled with black spots; it is common in the markets
at Lima.

Several other species inhabit the Indian Ocean, called by the
French colonists Pamples (a). They are generally more elevated
than the fiatola, and spines or trenchant blades are frequently found
before their dorsal, and even their anal-j\ We may distinguish from
among them the

Peprilus, Cuv.
In which the pelvis forms a trenchant and pointed blade before the anus,

* This fig., in which the left pectoral is bent downwards, being mistaken by La-
cep. for a ventral, gave rise to his genus Chrysostromus, which must consequently be
suppressed.

f The Slromatcus niger, Bl. 422, and better, 1G0, under the false nameofiSVr.
para, Russ. 43; — the Sir. albus, Cuv., Russ. 44 ; — Str. candidus, Cuv., Russ. 42; —
Sir. argenteus, Euphrasen, New Stockh. Mem. IX, pi. ix, or Sir. aculeatus, Bl., Schn.;
Sir. grisfiis, Cuv.

ggT (a) And, by the English in India, Pomfrel. One of the species of the Indk'ii
fishes, S. Niger, the Black Pomfret, is caught plentifully in the roads of Pondi-
cherry, in the months of March and April. They are taken in great abundance only
at intervals, as the fish collect together near the coast, and remain there for two or
three days, then disappear for about the same period, when they return, and thus
continue for some time the alternate movement. The fish must be eaten within a
few hours after being caught. — Eng. Ed.

136 FISHES.

that might be taken for a vestige of the ventrals*. Besides this, there
are the trenchant blades of which we have just spoken, and there is even
one species in which these blades are crenatedf.

Luvarus, Rafin.,

Appear to be closely approximated to Peprilus; the extremity of the pel-
vis is furnished with a small scale that acts as an operculum to the anus;
no trenchant blades; a prominent carina on each side of the tail, as in
the Tunny, &c.

Luv. imperialis, Rafin. Ind. d'ltliol. Sicil. pi. i, f. 1. Silvery,

with a reddish back; an extremely large species that inhabits the

seas of Europe J.

Seserinus, Cuv.,

Have all the characters of the Stromatei, even internally; but on them
are seen two small ventrals, or rather vestiges of ventrals.

Ses. Rondeletii, Cuv.; Rondel. 257. A small species from the
Mediterranean.

KURTUS, Bl.

The Kurtes are closely allied to Peprilus, from which they particularly
differ in the less extent of their dorsal, and in the development of their
ventrals : the anal is long, the scales are so extremely small that they are
hardly visible till the skin is dried; there are none on the fins; seven
rays in the branchiae ; a pelvic spine between the ventrals, and several
small trenchant blades before the dorsal, at whose base is a spine directed
horizontally forwards.

A singularity of structure is presented in their skeleton; the ribs are
dilated, convex, and form rings which are in contact with each other, thus
enclosing a conical and empty space, which extends beneath the tail, in
the inferior rings of the vertebra?, in a long and thin tube which contains
the natatory bladder. The

Kurt, indicits, Bl. 1G9, is very probably the female of the Ktirtns
cornutus, or Somdrum-Kara-Mottee of Russel, a fish very remark-
able for a little cartilaginous and curved horn, which rises from the
first of the small trenchant blades before the dorsal.

CokyphjEna, Lin.

The Coryphaena, vulgarly called Dories, and, by the Dutch, Dolphins:
the body compressed, elongated, covered with small scales; upper part of
the head trenchant; a dorsal extending along the whole of the back,

* Cluetodon alepidotus, L., or Stromateus longipinnis, Mitch.; — Sir. cryplosus, Mitch. ;
— Str. paru, Sloane, Jam. II, pi. ccl, f. A.

f Peprilus crenulatus, Cuv., a small and new species.

% A specimen was taken at the Isle of Re, in 1826, a drawing of which was for-
warded to us by M. Journal Rouquet, one of the custom-house officers of that
island. I suspect that we should refer to it, at least as a congener, the Atisonia Cu-
vieri, Kisso, 2nd ed. pi. xi, f. 28, which is figured, however, with two anal spines.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 137

composed of rays almost equally flexible, although there is no articulation
to the anterior ones; seven rays in the branchiae

C0R.YPH.ENA, CllV.

The Coryphaenae, properly so called, have the head much elevated; the
profile curved into an arc which descends very suddenly; eyes very far
down ; teeth in the palate as well as in the jaws. Large and beautiful
fishes, celebrated for the rapidity of their motions, and the eternal war
they wage against the Flying Fish.

C. hippurus, L. (The Mediterranean Coryphaena). Sixty dorsal
rays ; a silvery-blue above, with deep blue spots ; a lemon-yellow,
with light blue spots beneath. Several neighbouring species are
found in the ocean, hitherto confounded with it*.

Caranxomorus, Lacep.,

Have the head oblong and but slightly elevated, the eye in a mediate
position, thus differing in both these respects from the true Coryphaenae j.
In the

Centrolophus, Lacep.,

The palatine teeth are wanting; there is an interval without rays between
the occiput and the commencement of the dorsal J. A species of each of
these two last subgenera inhabits the Mediterranean, and occasionally
strays into the ocean.

Astrodermus, Bonnelli,

Have the elevated and trenchant head and long dorsal of the Coryphaenae;
but the mouth is slightly cleft, there are but four rays in the branchiae,
and their ventrals are very small and placed on the throat; but their pe-
culiar character is, that the scales scattered over the body assume the ra-
diated form of small stars.

Astrod. guttatus, Bonn. ; Diana semilunata, Risso, Ed. II, pi. vii,

f. 14. Silvery, spotted with black; red fins, and a very high dorsal.

From the Mediterranean, and the only species known §.

Pteraclis, Gronov. — Oligopodus, Lacep.

Teeth and head of the Coryphaenae ; but the scales are larger, the ven-
trals jugular and very small, and the dorsal and anal as high as the fish
itself.

* We will describe several of them in our Icthyology, and endeavour to settle their
synonymes.

f Scomber pelagicus, L., Mus. Ad. Fred, xxx, f. 3, or Cychla pelagica, Bl. Schn. ;
— Cor. fasciolata, Pall. Spic. Zool. Fasc. VIII, pi. iii, f. 2.

X Corypkcena pompilus, L., Rondel, 250; — the Centrolophe nigre, Lacep. IV, 111,
the same as the Perca nigra, Gmel., Borlasse, Hist, of Cornw. pi. xxvi, f. 8, or Holo*
centre noir, Lacep.; tlie Merle, Duham. Sect IV, pi. vi, f. 2.

§ Astrodermus guttatus, Bonnelli, or f>i<>>ni semilunata, Etiss. 2nd ed. VII, f. I I.

138 FISHES.

P. velifer ; Coryphcena velifera, Pall. Spic. Zool. Fasc. VIII,
pi. 1*. From the Carolinas, and the only species known (a).

The Eighth Family of Acanthopterygians, that of

FAMILY VIII.

TiENIOIDES,

Taenioids, or Ribband Fish, is closely connected with the Scombe-
roides, and its first genus is even intimately allied with Gempilus and
Thyrsites; the fishes which compose it are elongated, flattened on the
sides, and have very small scales.

The first tribe has the muzzle elongated, the mouth cleft and armed
with strong, pointed, and trenchant teeth, and the lower jaw advancing
beyond the upper one : it comprises but two genera,

Lepidopus, Gouan.,

Whose special character consists in the reduction of the ventrals to two
small scaly plates; the thin and elongated body is furnished with a dorsal
above, which extends throughout its length, with a low anal beneath, and
terminates in a well-formed caudal; there are eight rays in the branchiae;
the stomach is elongated, with upwards of twenty caecums near the pylo-
rus, and a prominent glandular body is attached to the natatory bladder,
which is long and slender.

Lep. argyreus, Cuv. (The Garter Fish). Frequently five feet
in length; it has been described under several names j, and is found
from England to the Cape of Good Hope, but is rare every where.

Trichiurus, Lin. — Lepturus, Artedi, — Gvmnogaster,
Gronov.,

Have the form of body, muzzle, and jaws, similar pointed and trenchant
teeth, and a dorsal extending along the back, as in Lepidopus; but the

* Bosc assures us that he caught it in Carolina; Pallas says that his is from the
Moluccas. — They may be different species.

f It is the Lepidopus of Gouan., Hist. Pise. pi. i, fig. 4; the Trichiurus caudatus,
Euphrasen, New Stocfch. Mem. IX, pi. ix, f. 2; the Trick, gladius, Holten, Soc.
Hist. Nat. Copenh. V, p. 23, and pi. ii; the Trich. ensi/ormis of Vaudelli, or Vandel-
lius lusitanicus of Shaw; the Zipntheca teiradens of Montagu, Werner, Soc. I, p. 81,
pi. ii; the Sarcina argyrea, Rafin. Nouv. Caratt. pi. vii, f. 1; the Lepidope Pen,n,
Pass.; and the Lepidope argenie of Nardo.

RSF (a) I" the ninth volume of his great work on Icthyology, Cuvier is enabled
to describe three more species. The first is the P. ocellatus, "brought home by the na-
turalists, Quoy and Gaymard; it was found in the stomach of a bonita, which was
caught in the Indian Sea, near Madagascar, in south latitude 30°, and was so fresh
at the time, that it must have been then but recently swallowed. The other two
species are P. Iricheplerus and P. Caroliuus. The whole are in the King's Cabinet in
Fans. — Eng. Ed.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 159

ventvals and caudal are wanting, and the tail is drawn out into a long,
slender, and compressed filament. In lieu of the anal there is merely a
suite of small and hardly perceptihle spines on the under edge of the tail ;
the branchiae have but seven rays. They resemble beautiful silver rib-
bands; their stomach is elongated and thick; their intestines straight; their
caeca numerous, and their natatory bladder long and simple.

Trick, lepturus, Lin.; Brown, Jam. pi. xlv, f. 4*, is found in the

Atlantic, both on the coast of America and that of Africa.

Two other species are known from the Indian Ocean, one of

which, Trick, haumela, Schn. ; Clupea haumela, Forsk. and Gmel. ;

Savala, Russel, I, 41, is very similar to the Lepturus, being only

somewhat shorter. The other, Trick, savala, Cuv., is still less

elongated, and has a smaller eye"j\

A second tribe comprehends genera in which the mouth is small, and
but slightly cleft.

GVMNETRUS, BL,

Have the body elongated and flat, as in all the preceding divisions, and
totally deprived of the anal fin; but there is a long dorsal whose length-
ened anterior rays form a sort of panache, but they are easily broken ;
the ventrals, when not worn or broken, are very long, and the caudal,
composed of very few rays, rises vertically from the extremity of the tail,
which ends in a small hook. There are six rays in the branchiae; the
mouth is slightly cleft, very protractile, and furnished with but few and
small teeth; some small spines on the lateral line, which are more salient
towards the tail. These fishes are extremely soft, and their rays are fra-
gile; they have been frequently and incorrectly figured from mutilated
specimens \ ; their skeleton has the bones, especially those of the vertebra',
but very slightly indurated, their .stomach is elongated, and their caeca are
very numerous; the natatory bladder is wanting, and their mucous flesh
is very rapidly decomposed.

* It is the Ubirre of Laet., Ind. Occid. 573, which, through a mistake, pointed
out by himself, he has placed in Marcgr. p. lGl,as belonging to the description of the
Much, which is a Muraena; this mistake has produced such confusion, that Bloch and
others were Jed to believe that the Trichiurus is a fresh-water fish.

f A transposition in the text of Nieuhof has caused electric properties to be attri-
buted to the Trichiuri of India, which they most assuredly do not possess.

X The Fulx venetorum of Belon, of which Gouan has made his genus Tkachyp-
Terus, and which has become the Cepola traehyptera, Gmel., only differs from the
Tarda altera of Rondel, 327, and even from his Tarda prima, which is the Cepola
tania, L., and from the Spada maxima, Imperati, 587, or Cepola glad-ins of Walbaum,
and from the Tania falcata, Aldrov., or Cepola iris of Walbaum, in the various de-
grees of individual mutilation. It is the same with respect to the Fogmar of the Ice-
landers of Olafseii and Powelsen, Isl. tr. fr. pi. li, or Gymnogasier arcticus of Briin-
nich, Scient. Soc. Copenh. Ill, pi. xiii, which is the genus Bogmarus, Bl. Schn.;
with respect to the Gymnetre cepedien, Risso, Ed. I, pi. v, f. 17; to the Argyclius
quadrimaculatus, Rafm. Carutt. I, f. 3; to his Scareina quadrinaculata and imperials ;
to the Gymneti us mvditerraneus of Otto; to the Epidesmus maculalus of Ranzani,
Opusc. Scientif. Fascia VIII, and to the liegalecas maculatus of Nardo, Phys. Journ.
Pavia, VIII, pi. i, f. 1. All these fishes hardly differ in species, and not in the least
as to genus. Bonnelli is the person who has described the least mutilated specimen:
he calls it the Trachypterus cristatus, Acad. Turin, XXI V, pi. ix.

140 FISHES.

Several species are found in the European seas which differ in the num-
ber of their dorsal rays, and which, when entire, that is when young, fre-
quently present a most singular appearance from the prolongation of their
fins.

The most brilliant of the Mediterranean species has but from one
hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty dorsal rays: all that have
been caught were either small or of a middling size. Another has
from a hundred and seventy to a hundred and seventy-five rays, spe-
cimens of which are found in cabinets, from four to five feet in length.
A third has more than two hundred of these rays, and is more than
seven feet in length.

The Arctic Ocean produces two species, called in Norway the
King of the Herrings*; to one of which some give one hundred
and twenty rays, and others give one hundred and sixty, and say
that it attains the length of ten feet; the other has more than four
hundred rays, and is eighteen feet in lengthy. The ventrals consist
of a long filament dilated near the extremity. They are also found
in India J.

Stylephokus, Shaw.

A vertical caudal, as in Gymnetrus, but shorter; the extremity of the
tail, instead of being curved into a small hook, is prolonged into a slender
cord longer than the body.

S. chordatvs, Shaw, Lin. Trans. I, vi, Nat. Misc. VII, pi. 274,
and Gen. Zool. IV, part I, pi. ii. There is only known a badly
preserved specimen, which was taken in the Gulf of Mexico, and
even of it, for a long time, we only had quite a mutilated drawing.
M. de Blainville, however, has given us a more faithful representa-
tion ; Journ. de Phys. tome LXXXVII, pi. i, f. 1, which exhibits
no ventrals.

In a third tribe the snout is short, and the mouth cleft obliquely.

Cf.pola§, Lin.

The Ribband Fishes have a long dorsal and anal, both reaching to the
base of the caudal, which is tolerably large; the cranium is not at all ele-
vated; snout very short; lower jaw curved upwards; the teeth prominent,
and the ventrals sufficiently developed. There are but two or three non-
articulated rays in the dorsal, which are as flexible as the others; the

* It is the Re galerus glesne, Ascanius, Ic. Fasc. II, pi. xi, which he afterwards
named Ophidium glesne, Mem. Scient. Soc. Copenh. Ill, p. 419, or the RegaHcus
remipes, Brunnich, lb. pi. B, f. 4 and 5 Bloch, Syst. pi. 88, copies and alters the
figure of Ascanius. A better copy is, Encycl. Method, f. 358.

f Gymnetrus Grilli, Lindroth, New Stockh. Mem. XIX, pi. viii.

X Gymnetrus Russelii, Shaw, IV, part II, page 195, pi. 28.

Add, the Gymnetrus Hawkenii, if the figure be correct; but the Regalec lunceole, or
Ophidic chinoise, Lacep. I, xxii, 3, or the Gymnetrus cepedianus, Shaw, does not be-
long to this genus.

§ This name of Cepola; given by Willoughby as a Unman synonyme of the
Fierasfer, has been applied by Linn, to the present genus, to which the Fierasfer does
nor belong.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. Ill

spine »f the ventrals is alone stiff and sharp; there are six rays in the
branchiae, and the abdominal cavity is very short as well as the stomach ;
they have some cceca, with a natatory bladder which extends into the base
of the tail.

Cep. rvbescens, L. ; Lin. Trans. VII, xvii, and Bl. 170, under

the false name of Cep. tcvuia*, the Ribband, or Red-band Fish. A

Mediterranean species of a reddish colour.

Lophotes, Giorna,

Have the head surmounted with a high osseous crest; to its summit a
long and stout spine is articulated, bordered behind with a membrane, and
originating from this spine a low fin, whose rays are nearly all simple, ex-
tending equally to the point of the tail, which has a distinct but very small
caudal; an extremely short anal beneath that point; moderate pectorals,
beneath which are scarcely perceptible ventrals, composed of four or five
excessively small rays. The teeth are pointed and not crowded; the
mouth is directed upwards, and the eye very large. There are six rays in
the branchiae, and the abdominal cavity occupies nearly the whole length
of the body.

L. cepedianvs, Giorna, Mem. of the Imp. Acad, of Turin, 1805,
1808, p. If), pi. 2. The only species known; it is found, though
rarely, in the Mediterranean, and becomes very large j.

A Ninth Family of Acanthopterygians,

FAMILY IX.

THEUTYES.

The Theutides is as closely allied to the Scomberoidcs as the preced-
ing one, and in other points, such as the armature, which is found in
several genera on the sides of the tail, or in others, the horizontal spine
before the dorsal, &c. It contains but very few genera; they are all
foreign, and have a compressed, oblong body, a small mouth, but slightly
or not at all protractile, each jaw of which is armed with a single range of
trenchant teeth; palate and tongue without teeth, and a single dorsal.
They are herbivorous fishes, feeding on fucus and other marine plants;
their intestines are very large.

Siganus, Forslc. — Buno, Commer, — Centkogaster, Houttvyn.
— Ampiiacanthus, Block.

The Sidjans have a remarkable character — unique, in icthyology — in
their ventrals, which are furnished with' two spinous rays, one external,

* Add, the Cepola japonica, Krusenst, Voy. pi. lx, f. i.

t The description of Giorna is imperfect, because he only had a mutilated speci-
men, of whose origin he was ignorant I drew mine from an individual more than
four feet in length, taken at Genoa. See An. Mus. XX, xvii.

143 PISHES.

the other internal, the three intermediate ones branching as usual. They
have five branchial rays, and a horizontal spine before the dorsal. The
styloid bones of their shoulder lengthen out in a curve, so as to unite
themselves by their extremities to the first interspinal of the anal*.
Numerous species are found in the Indian Ocean -j\

Acanthurus, Lacep. and Bl. — Harpurus, Forst.

These fishes, vulgarly called Surgeons, have the teeth trenchant and
notched; a strong moveable spine on each side of the tail, that is as sharp
as a lancet, and inflicts severe wounds on those who carelessly handle
these fishes; hence their vulgar name. They inhabit the hot parts of
both oceans J.

The dorsal of some species is very highS.

Some have a sort of brush composed of stiff hairs, before the lateral
spine || .

In others again the teeth are deeply notched, or pectinated on one side^[.
The

Piuonurus, Lacep.

Only differ from the preceding genus in the armature of the sides of the
tail, which consists of a series of fixed, horizontal, and trenchant blades**.

Naseus, Commers. — Monoceros, Bl. Schn.

Have, like the preceding, the sides of the tail armed with fixed trenchant
blades: but the teeth are conical, and the front projects in a kind of horn
or knob above the muzzle; but four rays in the branchia?, and three soft
ones in the ventrals; the skin resembles leather jf.

* Geoff. Phil. Anat. I, 471, and pi. ix, f. 108.

f Thelitis javus, L., Gronov. Zoophyl. pi. VIII, f. 4; — Siganus stellat/is, Forsk.; —
Amphac. punctatus, Bl. Sclin., or Acanthurus meleagris, Shaw; — Burn brunneus,
Commers., Lacep. V, 421 ; — Siganus rivulatus, Forsk.; — Amphac. nebulosus, Quoy and
Gaym. Zool. Voy. Freyein. p. 369; — Centrogaster fuscescens, Houttuyn; — Chatodan
guttatus, Bl. 196; — Amph. marmoralus, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freyein. Zool. pi 62,
f. 1 and 2; — Amph. mc.gniahac, lb. f. 3; — Centrogaster argenlatus, Houtt., and seve-
ral others to be described in our Icthyology.

X Chalodon chirurgus, Bl. 208; — Thelitis hepaius, t.j Seb. Ill, xxxiii, f. 3; — Ac.
glauco pareius, Cuv., Seb. III. xxv, 3, which appears to be the true Chatodon nigricans,
L.; — Chert, triostegus, Brousson., Dec. Icth. No. 4, or Acanthure zebre, Lacep., which
is also his Chat, zebre, III, xxv, 3; — Ac. guttatus, Bl., Schn.; — Ac. suiUtis, Cuv., Re-
nard, I, pi. xiv, f. 82;— Chat, lineattis, L. ; Seb. Ill, xxv, I;— Chat. Achilles, Brous-
sonnet; — Chat, meta, Russ. 82; — Chat, sohal, Forsk., of which Lacep. has very im-
properly made a genus under the name of Apisurus ; — Ac. slriatus, Cuv.; Paningu,
Renard, pi. 1, f. 8; — Ac. argente, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freyein., p. 63, f. 3; — Chat,
nigrqfuscus, Forsk.; — Chat, nigricans, Bl. 203, which is not that of Linnaeus.

§ Ac. velifer, Bl. 427.

|| Ac. scopas, Cuv., Renard, I, pi. xi, 101.

^[ Ac. clemdoii, Cuv., a new species.

** Prionurc microUpidote, Lacep. An. Mus. IV, p. 205; — Acanthurus scalp f Urn,
Langsdorf.

■ft Naseus fron/icornis, Cuv., Lacep. Ill, vii, 2, BL, Schn., pi. 42, Hasseq., it. pal.
332 ;—Nas. tandock, Ren. I, i v, 23 ; Valent. 5 1 8 ; — Chat, unicornis, Forsk., differ from
our first species.— Was. brevirostris, Cuv., Ren. I, xxiv, 130; — Nas.tumifrons, Cuv.,
badly drawn, Ren. I, 178;— Kas. incoruis, Cuv., Ren. I, f. 128, and not so'wcll, f. 117,

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. M[

Axinurus, Cuv.

More elongated than the preceding, and without horn or knob, but with
the same branchial and ventral rays as in the preceding genus; each side
of the tail armed with a single, square, trenchant blade, without a shield;
the mouth very small, and the teeth very slender*.

pRIODON, CuV.

Combine the notched teeth of Acanthurus, the three soft ventral rays cf
Naseus, and the unarmed tail of the Sidjans -f.

FAMILY X.

The tenth family of Acanthopterygians comprehends a small number of
genera, distinguished by

LABYRINTHIFORM PHARYNGEALS,

That is to say, that part of their superior pharyngeals is divided into
small irregular lamellae, more or less numerous, intercepting small cells,
in which they have the power of retaining water for the purpose of being
used in moistening the gills when the animal is on shore — an apparatus
by which it is enabled to quit the pool or rivulet, which constitutes its
usual element, and crawl to a considerable distance from it, a singular
property, not unknown to the antientsj, and which induces the people of
India to believe that they fall from heaven.

An abas, Cuv.

It is in this genus that we find the greatest degree of complication in
these labyrinths; the third pharyngeals, however, have teeth as if paved,
and there are others behind the cranium. Their body is round and co-
vered with strong scales, their head broad, muzzle short and obtuse, and
mouth small; the lateral line is interrupted at its posterior third. The
borders of their operculum, suboperculum, and interoperculum strongly
dentated, but not that of the preoperculum. There are five rays in the

probably the Acatilhurtts harpuras, Shaw; — Na.i. caroUnarum, Quoy and Gaym. Zool.
du Voyage <le Freycin., pi. 63, f. 1; — Nns. tuSer, Corrimefs., or Nusen- Loupe, Lacep.
Ill, vii, 8, or Acanthurus nanus, Shaw, Itenard, I, f. 79, Valent., No. 1 19 and 478.

• Ajdnurus thijnnoides, Cuv., a new species brought by Quoy and Gaymard from
New Guinea.

\ Priodon annularis, Cuv., a new species brought from Timor by the same gen-
tlemen.

X Theophrastus, in his treatise upon fishes which live out of water, speaks of small
ones which leave their native streams for some time and then return to them, and
says that they resemble Mugils.

144 FISHES.

branchiae, and many spinous ones in the dorsal, and even in the anal.
The stomach is moderate, rounded, and their pylorus has but three ap-
pendages. But one species is known.

An. testudineus, Cuv.*, called in Jamaica the Paneiri or Tree-
Climber, highly celebrated because it not only leaves the water, but,
according to Daldorf, even climbs up the shrubs on its banks; this
latter assertion, however, is denied. Found throughout all India.

POLYACANTHUS, KllJll.

Have their rays spinous, and more numerous than Anabas; the same
mouth, scales, and interrupted lateral line; but neither of the opercula is
dentated ; the body is compressed, and there are four rays in the branchiae ;
a narrow band of small, short, and crowded teeth in the jaws, but none in
the palate; the branchial apparatus is more simple, and their pylorus has
but two C3?cal appendages.

Found in rivers, &c. throughout all India f. The

Macropodus, Lacep.

Only differ from Polyacanthus in a less extended dorsal, which terminates,
as well as the caudal and the ventrals, in a slender point, more or less
elongated. The anal is larger than the dorsal.

These also are fresh-water fishes, found in India and China J.

Helostoma, Kuhl.

In addition to the characters of Polyacanthus, the fishes of this genus
have a small compressed mouth, so protractile that it has all the appear-
ance of protruding and withdrawing between the suborbitals; their very
small teeth are attached to the borders of the lips, and not to the jaws or
palate: there are five rays in the gills. The arches of the branchiae, on
the side next to the mouth, are furnished with lamellae, nearly similar to
the external ones, which may also assist in the process of respiration §.
Their stomach is small, and has but two pyloric appendages, but their in-
testine is very long; the natatory bladder is of a middling size, and its
walls are thick.

Osphrobenusj|, Commers.

Possess all the characters of Polyacanthus, but the forehead is somewhat
concave ; the anal larger than the dorsal, as in Macropodus ; the suborbi-

* It is the Amphiprion scansor, Bl., Schn., p. 204 and 570, or Perca scandens, Dal-
dorf, Lin. Trans. Ill, p. 62. It is also the Anthias testudineus, Bl., pi. 322, and the
Coius coboius, Ham. Buchan, pi. xiii, f. 38.

f Trichnpodus colisa, H. Buchan; — Trich. bejeus, Id. 1 18; — Trick, cotra, Id. 119; —
Tr.latius, Id. 120; — Tr. sola, Id. lb.; — Tr. chuna, Id. 121; — Trichogaster fasciatus,
Bl., Sclin., pi. xxxvi, p. 164; — CJuetodon chinensis, Bl., pi. ccxviii, f. 1.

X The Macropode vert dore, Lacep. Ill, xvi, 1, and a new and much more beauti-
ful species with alternate red and green bands.

§ But one species is known (He I. temminckii, Cuv.), from the Moluccas, whieh we
shall minutely describe in our Icthyology.

|| This name is derived from the Greek word osphromai, olfacio, and was invented

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 145

tals and lower part of the preoperculum very delicately dentated; the first
soft ray of the ventrals extremely long; six branchial rays and the body
strongly compressed. A species of this genus originally from China.

Osphr. olfax, Commers. ; the Gourami, Lacep. Ill, iii, 2, be-
comes as large as the Turbot, and is considered even more delicious.
It was introduced into the ponds of the Isle of France, where it in-
creases rapidly, and has been taken thence a short time since to
Cayenne. The female is said to dig a cavity in the sand for the re-
ception of her eggs. The

Trichopodus, Lacep.

Differ from Osphromenus in having a more convex forehead, and a shorter
dorsal, besides which there are but four rays in the branchiae ; the first
soft ray of their ventrals is also very long.

There is but one species known; a small fish of the Moluccas,
marked with a black spot on the side*.

Spirobranchus, Cuv.

Possess the general form of Anabas, but the opercula are not dentated;
the operculum merely terminating in two points ; a series of palatine teeth.
aS*^. capensis, Cuv. A diminutive fresh-water fish from the Cape
of Good Hope; the only species known. The

Ophicephalus, Bl.
Resemble all the preceding genera in most of their characters, and parti-
cularly in the cellular conformation of the pharyngeals, which are adapted
to retain water. These fishes also creep to a considerable distance from
their ordinary abodes, but what particularly distinguishes, and even sepa-
rates, them from all other Acanthopterygians, is the absence of spines in
the fins, the first ray of their ventrals at most excepted, and even that,
though simple, is not sharp and stiff. Their body is elongated and almost
cylindrical ; their muzzle short and obtuse ; their head depressed and fur-
nished above with scales, or rather polygonal plates, as in Anabas, &c.
There are five rays in their branchiae ; the dorsal occupies nearly their
whole length, the anal also is very long, the caudal rounded, the pectorals
and ventrals moderate, and the lateral line uninterrupted. Their stomach
is shaped like an obtuse sac ; two tolerably long caecums adhere to the
pylorus, The abdominal cavity extends above the anal, close to the end
of the tail. All the jugglers of India exhibit this fish out of water for
the diversion of spectators, and even the children amuse themselves by
forcing it to crawl upon the ground. In the markets of China the larger

by Commerson, who conjectured that the hollow pharyngeals visible in this fish, as
in others of the family, might be organs of smell, a kind of aethmoides.

N. B. The Osphromene gal., Lacep., Scarus gallus, Forsk., is a Julis, Cuv.; but we
have two new species of true Ophromeni, Oplir. notaius, and the vittatus, Cuv.

* It is the Labrus trichopterus, Gmel., Pall., Spic, Fasu. VIII, p. 45; the Trichop-
terui Pallasii, Shaw, IV, part II, p. 392; the Trichogaster trichopterus, 151., Schn.,
and the Trichopode trichoptere, Lacep. N. B. The Trichopode menlonnier, Lacgr., or
T. satyrus, Shaw, vol. IV, part 1 1, p. 391, only rests upon a bad figure of Gourami.
VOL. II. L

146 FISHES.

species are sliced alive for consumption*. They may be divided by the
number of their dorsal rays. Some have but thirty odd of these raysj\
Others forty odd J. Some again have more than fifty §.

FAMILY XL

MUGILOIDES.

The Mugiloides constitute the eleventh family of the Acanthoptery-
gians, and is composed of the genus

Mugil, Lin.
The Mullets, which may virtually be considered as a distinct family, so
many peculiarities do they offer in their organization ; their body is almost
cylindrical, covered with large scales, and furnished with two separate
dorsals, the first of which has but four spinous rays ; the ventrals are in-
serted a little behind the pectorals. There are six rays in the branchiae;
their head is somewhat depressed, and covered with large scales or poly-
gonal plates, their muzzle very short. Their transverse mouth forms an
angle, by means of a prominence in the middle of the lower jaw, which
corresponds with a depression in the upper one, the teeth being exces-
sively tenuous, and frequently almost imperceptible. Their pharyngeal
bones, highly developed, give an angular form to the opening of the
oesophagus, similar to tbat of the mouth, which only permits fluids or very
small matters to pass into the stomach, notwithstanding which this sto-
mach terminates in a sort of fleshy gizzard, analogous to that of Birds:
they have but few pyloric appendages, but the intestine is long and
doubled.

They are capital fish, resort to the mouths of rivers in large troops,
and are continually making great leaps out of the water; the European
seas produce several species hitherto very imperfectly ascertained ||.

M. cephalus, Cuv. (The Common Mullet). Distinguished from
all the other species of Europe by its eyes, which are half covered
by two adipose veils, adhering to the anterior and posterior edge of
the orbit; by the fact, that when the mouth is closed, the maxillary
is completely hidden under the sub- orbital; and by the base of the

* This is most incontestibly the genus alluded to by Theophrastus.

•'■ Qphicephalus vunct.nt.ux, Bl., or Oph. lata, Buchan. ; — 0. marginatus, Cuv., or O.
gachua, Buchan.? pi. xxi, f. 21, or Cur. mot/a, Russel, II, pL 164; — 0. auranticus,
Buch.

X Ophicephalus striatus, Bl. 359, or Multah, Russel, pi. 162, or O. chena, Buch.?
.-- O. sola, Id.; — O. sowara, Russ. 163.

§ Ophicephalus murulins, Buch., which is the Bostrichoide ceille, Lacep. II, xiv, 3;
— Oph. burca, Buch. xxxv, 20, to which the Bostriche tachele, Lacep. Ill, p. 143, is at
least very closely allied, and several new species to be described in our Icthyology.

II Linnceus and several of his successors have confounded all the European Mul-
lets under a single species, their Mtigil cephalus.

ACANTIIOPTERYGIANS. 147

pectoral being surmounted by a long and carinated crest. The
nasal openings are separated from each other, and the teeth are
tolerably prominent. It is the largest and best of the Mediter-
ranean species. We have not seen it on the Atlantic coast of
Europe, but its characters are visible in several species of India
and of America*. Another species, nearly as large, and common to
the Mediterranean and the ocean, is the

M. capito, Cuv. ; the Ramado of Nice. It has the maxillary
visible behind the commissure of the jaws even when the mouth is
closed; much weaker teeth; nasal orifices approximated; the skin
of the edges of the orbit not extending to the globe of the eye ; the
sur-pectoral scale short and obtuse ; a black spot at the base of the
latter finf.

Two smaller species, M. avratus, and M. saltator, (the M. dore,
and M. sauteur, of Risso), approach the capito; the maxillary of
the first is hidden under the sub-orbital as in the cephalus, but the
nasal orifices are approximated as in the capito ; the other, with the
characters of the capito, has an emarginated sub-orbital which allows
the end of the jaw to be seen J. A third large species, also common
to both seas, is the

M. chelo, Cuv. (The Great-lipped Mullet). Particularly dis-
tinguished by its extremely bulky fleshy lips, whose edges are
ciliated, and by teeth which dip into their substance like so many
hairs; the maxillary is recurved, and shows itself behind the com-
missure.

M. labeo, Cuv., a small Mediterranean species, has, in proportion
to its size, still larger lips, with crenated borders. Several of these
thick-lipped species are found in the Indian Ocean §. The

. Tetragonurus, Risso,

So called from the two salient crests that are found on each side near the
base of the caudal, form another of these insulated genera, which seem to
be representatives of particular families. These fishes are partly allied
to the Mullets, and partly to the Scomberoides. Their body is elongated;
their spinous dorsal long, but very low, the soft one approximated to it,

* America produces five or six species badly characterized and confounded by
Linn., under the name of M. albula. Among the number is the M. Plutnie.ri, BL,
become a Sphyrcena'm BL Schn. p. 110, and the M. lineatus, Mitch. i-The true cepha-
lus of the Mediterranean is found on the whole African coast. Add, of species from
India, the Bontah, Russel, II, 180, or the M. our, of Forsk., perhaps the same as our
cephalus; — the Kunnesee, Id. 181; — M. ccrsula, Buch. pi. ix, 97.

f This appears to us to be the species particularly described by Willoughby, and
figured by Pennant.

X Add, the M. christian, Voy. Freycin. ; — M. Ferrandi, lb.; — M. parsia, Buch. pi.
xvii, f. 71; — M. carcasia, Id.; — 31. peradak, Cuv., Russ. 182.

§ M. crenilabis, Forsk.; — M. cirrhosthomus, Forst. App. BL Schn. 121.

N.B. The M. coeruleo-maculatus, Lacep. V, 389, the same represented under the
name of crenilabis, pi. xiii, f. 1, belongs to the same group as the capito. The Mu-
gil appcndiculatus, Bosc, or Mugilomore Anne-Caroline, Lacep. V, 398, is nothing else
than the elops, which is also the fact as respects the Mugil salmoneus, Forst., BL Schn.
121; — Mugil cinereus, Walbaum, Catesb. II, xi, 2, is a Gerres; — the M. chanos,
Forsk., belongs to the Cyprinidae.

L 2

148 FISHES.

short but higher, and the anal corresponding to the latter ; the ventrals
are a little distance behind the pectorals. The branches of the lower jaw-
raised vertically, and provided with a range of transparent pointed teeth,
forming a kind of saw, and enclosed, when the mouth is shut, by those of
the upper one. There is also a small series of pointed teeth in each pa-
latine, and two in the vomer. Their stomach is fleshy and doubled, their
caecums numerous, and their intestines considerable. The oesophagus is
furnished internally with hard and pointed papillae.

Tetrag. Cuvieri, Risso; Courpata or Corbeau, of the Mediterra-
nean coast, is the only species known, and is never taken except in
very deep water. It is a foot long, and black; the scales hard,
deeply striate and indented. The flesh is said to be poisonous*.

I also place here, between the Mugiloides and the Gobioides, a genus
which does not completely harmonize with any other. 1 mean the

Atherina, Lin.,

Which have the body elongated; two dorsals widely separated; the ven-
trals further back than the pectorals; the mouth highly protractile, and
furnished with very minute teeth ; a broad silvery band along each flank
on all the known species. There are six rays in the branchiae ; the sto-
mach has no cul-de-sac, and their duodenum no caecal appendages. The
transverse processes of the last abdominal vertebrae are bent, and thus
form a little conical bag or cornet, which receives the point of the nata-
tory bladder. These little fishes are highly esteemed for the delicacy of
their flesh. The young ones remain for a long time in compact troops,
and are consumed on the coast of the Mediterranean under the name of
Nonnat, the Aphyes of the antients. Several species inhabit European
seas, hitherto confounded with the Ath. hepsetus, L.

Ath. hepsetus, Cuv.-j- ; the Sauclet of Languedoc, or Cabassous of
Provence; Rondel. 216; Duham. Sect. VI, pi. iv, f. 3. The head
somewhat pointed; nine spinous rays in the first dorsal; eleven soft
ones in the second, and twelve in the anal ; fifty-five vertebrae in all.
Ath. Boyer, Risso; the Joel of Languedoc, or Cabassouda of
Ivica, Rondel. 217. The head broader and shorter, the eye larger;
seven spines in the first dorsal, eleven rays in the second, thirteen
in the anal; forty-four vertebrae in all.

Ath. moehon, Cuv. (The Mochon of Ivica). The form of the
Sauclet; but there are seven spines in the first dorsal, fifteen soft
rays in the anal, and forty-six vertebra.

Ath. presbyter, Cuv. ; the Pretre, Abusseau, or Prosere of the
Coasts, &c.+ ; Duham. Sect. VI, pi. iv, f. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. The

* There is no good figure of it: Mugil niger, Rondel. 423; Corvus nilolicus,
Aldrov. Pise. 610; Risso, Ed. I, pi. x, f. 37.

f This is probably the special type of the hepsetus of Linnaeus. It is necessary
to observe.that the figure called Atherina hepsetus, Bl. pi. cccxciii, f. 3, and Syst. pi.
xxix, f. 2, is purely ideal.

+ So called from the silvery baud on the flank, which has been compared to a
stole.

ACANTHOPTER.YGIANS. 149

muzzle a little shorter than that of the Sauclet; eight spines in the
first dorsal, twelve soft rays in the second, fifteen or sixteen in the
anal, and fifty vertebras.

The Atherinae foreign to Europe are numerous*.

The twelfth family of the Acanthopterygians, or that of

FAMILY XII.

GOBIOIDES.

The Gohioides are recognized by the dorsal spines being thin and
flexible. All these fishes have about the same kind of intestines, that is,
a large uniform intestinal canal without caeca, and no natatory bladder.

Blennius, Lin.

The Blennies have a strongly marked character in their ventral fins,
which are placed before the pectorals, and consist of only two rays. The
stomach is slender, and has no cul-de-sac, the intestine large but without
a caecum, and there is no natatory bladder. The body is elongated and
compressed, and has but a single dorsal, almost entirely composed of simple
but flexible rays. They live in small troops among the rocks on the coast,
leaping and playing, and are capable of living without water for some
time. A slimy mucus is smeared over their skin, to which they owe their
Greek name of Blennius (a), and their French name Baveuscs. Several are
viviparous, and there is a tubercle near the anus of all of them, and in
both sexes, which appears destined for the purposes of coition. We di-
vide them as follows:

Blennius, Cuv.

The Blennies, properly so called, whose long, equal, and closely set
teeth, form but a single and regular range in each jaw, terminated behind,
in some species, by a longer and hooked tooth. The head is obtuse, the
muzzle short, and the forehead vertical; the intestines broad and short.
Most of them have a fimbriated appendage on each brow, and several have
another on each temple. Several species of this subdivision are taken
along the coast of France ; one of the most remarkable is the

Bl. ocellaris, Bl. 167, 1. (The Ocellated Blenny). The dorsal
bilobate, its anterior lobe elevated and marked with a round and black
spot, surrounded with a white circle and a black one.

Bl. tentacularis, Brunn.; Bl. 107, 2, under the name Bl. galto-

* Alher. tacunosa, Forst., Bl. Schn. \\'I, probably the liepsclus of Forsk. 69; — A.
endrachtensis, Quoy and Gaym., Freycin. Zool. p. 334; — A. Jacksomuna, Id. 333; —
A. brasiliensis, Id. 332; — A. neso-galica, Cuv., Lacep. V, pi. xi, f. 1, which is not the
same as the A. pinguis of the text. — A. mcenidia of Lin., which is not, as he sup-
poses, the mcenidia of Brown, Jam. pi. xlv, f. 3, hut is the A. votata, Mitch, op. oit
I, pi. iv, f. 6; and several others to be described in our Icthyology.

IgaJ^ (a) From the Greek word bteiuw, mucus from the nostrils. — Eng. Ed.

150 FISHES.

ruqine. The dorsal even, four filaments on the hrows ; a hlack spot
between the fourth and fifth rays.

Bl. gattorugine, L.; Will. II, 2, and Bl. 162, 1, 2, (the Banded
Blenny), under the name of Bl. fasciatus. But two filaments; dor-
sal almost even; marked with clouded and ohlique brown hands.

BL palmicornis, Cuv. ; Penn. Cop. Encycl. Method, f, 111, un-
der the name of gattorugine. The dorsal even; the appendage
over the eye fimbriated*.
The sur-ocular fimbriated appendages are hardly visible in others, but
they have a membranous prominence on the vertex which dilates and be-
comes red in the nuptial season. Some of them are found in European
seas. Such are,

Bl. galerita, L., Rondel. 204; Bl. pavo, Riss. The dorsal even;
spotted and streaked with blue ; a black ocellated spot behind the
eye.

Bl. rubriceps, Riss. (The Red-headed Blenny). Three first
rays of the dorsal elevated, forming a red point; top of the head of
the same colour.
In others, again, the Pholis-}-, Arted., there is neither panache nor
crest. One of them, a very small fish, is common on the coast of France.
Bl. pholis, L., Bl. 71, 2. (The Common Baveuse). Profile ver-
tical ; the dorsal slightly emarginate, dotted and marbled with brown
and blackish.
"We distinguish from these Blennies, properly so termed, under the
name of

Myxodes, Cuv.,

Species with an elongated head, a pointed muzzle projecting in front of
the mouth, and a single range of teeth, as in the Blennies, but without
canines \; and under that of

Salarias, Cuv.,

Species whose teeth, also forming a single range and placed close to each
other, are compressed laterally, hooked at the end, inexpressibly slender,
and immensely numerous. They move, in the fresh state of the species,
like the keys of a harpischord. Their head, strongly compressed above,
is very broad below; their lips are thick and fleshy, their profile is com-
pletely vertical, and their spirally convoluted intestines are longer and
thinner than in the common Blennies. The only species known are from
the Indian Ocean §. We call

* Add, Bl. cornuhts, L.;—Bl. pilicornis, Cuv., pumam, Marcgv. 165, the second
figure, but the first description, Src.

f Pholis, the Greek name of a fish always enveloped in mucus. Add, Bl. caver-
nosas, Schn. 37, 2; — Gadus salarias, Forsk. p. 22.

% The species are new.

§ Sal. quadripinnxs, Cuv., which is the Blennius gattorugine, Forsk. p. 23; — Bl.
sinus, Sujef. Act. Petrop. 177!), part II, pi. vij— the Alticus, or Saltator of Commcrs.,
Lactp. II, p. 479, and several new species. I have every reason to believe that to

ACANTHOPTEKYGIANS. 151

Clin us*, Cuv.,

Those with short pointed teeth, scattered in several ranges, the first of
which is the largest. Their muzzle is less obtuse than in the two pre-
ceding subgenera, their stomach wider and their intestines shorter.

In some, the first rays of the dorsal form a point separated by anemar-
gination from the rest of the finj; small fimbriated appendages on the
eye-brows.

There are even some of them in which the first rays are altogether
forward, and seem to form a pointed and radiated crest on the vertex^.

In others, again, the dorsal is continuous and even§.

ClRUHIBARBA, CuV.,

Have, with the form of the Clinus, the teeth small and crowded, and, be-
sides a little tentaculum over the eye and one on the nostril, there are
three large ones at the end of the muzzle, and eight under the point of
the lower jaw.

But one species is known, from India, of a uniform fawn colour.

Mur^enoides, Lacep. — Centronotus, Sehn.

The Gonnelles have the ventrals still smaller than all the other Blen-
nies, almost imperceptible, and frequently reduced to a single ray. Their
head is very'small, and their body elongated like a sword-blade ; a dorsal,
all of whose rays are simple and without articulation, extends along the
whole length of the back. The teeth are like those of a Clinus, and
their stomach and intestines of one uniform appearance.

BL gunnellus, L. ; Bl. 71, 1; Lacep. II, xii, 2. Very abundant
on the coast of France ; there is a series of ©cellared spots along
the whole base of the dorsal.

OriSTOGNATHUS, CuV.,

Have the form of the true Blennies, and particularly their short snout;
distinguished by very large maxillaries prolonged behind into a kind of
long, flat moustache; rasp-like teeth in each jaw, the external row strong-
est; three rays in the ventrals, which are placed exactly under the pec-
torals.

O. Sonnerati, Cuv., is the only species known; it was brought
from the Indian Ocean by Sonnerat.

this subgenus we should also refer the Bl. edentulus, Bl. Schn., or the truncatus of
Forster, notwithstanding it is said to be without teeth.

* Clinus, the modern Greek term for the Blenny.

\ Bl. mustelaris, L., Mus. Ad. Fred, xxxi, 3; — Bl. supercitiosus, Bl. 168; — Bl. ar-
genleus, Risso. N. B. The Blennie point ille, Lacep. II, xii, 3, appears to ine to be a
badly preserved specimen of the supercitiosus.

X Bl.fencstratus, Foist., Bl. Schn. p. 173.

§ Bl. spadiceus, Schn., Seb. Ill, xxx, f. 8; — Bl. acuminalvs, Id., Seb. lb. 1; — Bl.
punctatus, Ott. Fabr. Soc. Hiht. Nat. Copenh. vol. II, fasc. II, pi. x, f. 3; — Bl.
Audijredi, Risso, pi. vi, f. 15; — Bl. capen&is, Forster, Bl. Schn. 175;— Bl. lumpenus,
Walb., Artec!. Renov. part III, pi. iii.

152 FISHES.

We dare not separate, although they have no spinal ray, from the Blen-
nies, the

ZOARCUS, CuV.,

Which are provided with their anal tubercle; the intestines without
caeca, and smooth oblong body, six rays in the branchiae. There are
three rays in the ventral ; teeth conical, forming a single row on the sides
of the jaws, and several in front; none in the palate; the dorsal, anal,
and caudal, are united, not, however, until the dorsal is considerably de-
pressed. There is in our seas, and particularly in the Northern ones, a
species long known as viviparous ; it is the

Z. viviparus ; Bl. viviparus, L. ; Bl. 72. A foot long; fawn-
coloured, wilh blackish spots along the dorsal.
America has a considerably larger one,

Z. labrosus, Cuv. ; Bl. labrosus, Mitch. Trans. New York, I, 1,
7. It is three feet and more in length; it is of an olive colour,
sprinkled with brown spots.

Anarriiichas*, Lin.

The Wolf Fishes appear to me so very similar to the Blennies, that I
would willingly name them Blennies without ventrals. The dorsal fin,
entirely composed of simple, but not stiff rays, commences at the nape of
the neck, and extends, as well as the anal, close to that of the tail, which
is rounded, as well as the pectorals. Their whole body is smooth and
slimy. Their palatine bones, vomer and mandibles, are armed with stout,
bony tubercles, surmounted with small enamelled teeth, but the anterior
ones are longer and more conical. This mode of dentition furnishes them
with powerful weapons, which, added to their great size, render them fe-
rocious and dangerous. They have six branchial rays; the stomach is
short and fleshy; the pylorus being near its bottom, the intestine is short,
thick, and without caeca, and they have no natatory bladder.

A. lupus, L., Bl. 74, (The Sea Wolf or Sea Cat), is the most
common species ; it inhabits northern seas, and is frequently seen
on the coast of Europe; six or seven feet long; brown, with cloud-
ed bands of deep brown ; the flesh resembling that of an eel. This
fish is a substantial resource to the Icelanders, who salt and dry the
flesh for food, employ the skin as shagreen, and the gall as soapj-.
The

Gobius, Lin.

Commonly called Gobies or Sea-Gudgeons, are instantly recognized by
the union of their thoracic ventrals, either along the whole of their length,
or at least at their base, forming a single hollow disk more or less infun-
dibuliform. The spines of the dorsal are flexible, the branchial apertures
provided with five rays only, and generally but slightly open. Like the

* Anarrhicha.i, Climber, a name invented by Gesner (Paralipomen, p. 1261), be-
cause this fish is said to climb upon rocks and shoals by the aid of its fins and tail.

f The petrified teeth of this fish have been considered as constituting Bafonites,
but they have neither their form nor tissue.

Add, the Anarr. minor, Olafsen., Voy. en I si. Fr. Trans., pi. L.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 153

Blennies, they can live for some time out of water, their stomach has no
cul-de-sac, and the intestinal canal is not furnished with caeca; finally,
the males have the same little appendage behind the anus, and some spe-
cies are known to be viviparous. They are small or moderate sized
fishes, which live among the rocks near the shore. Most of them have a
simple natatory bladder.

Gobius, Lacep. and Schn.

In the true Gobies the ventrals are united throughout their whole
length, and even before their base by a traverse, so that they form a con-
cave disk. The body is elongated; head moderate and rounded; cheeks
inflated and the eyes approximated; two dorsal fins, the last of which is
long. Several species inhabit the seas of Europe, whose characters are
not yet sufficiently ascertained*.

They prefer a clayey bottom, where they pass the winter in canals
which they excavate. In the spring they prepare a nest in some spot
abounding with fucus, which they afterwards cover with roots of the Zos-
tera; here the male remains shut up, and awaits the females, who suc-
cessively arrive to deposit their eggs; he fecundates them, and exhibits
much care and courage in defending and preserving themy.

G. niger, L. ; Penn. Brit. Zool. pi. 38. (The Black or Common
Goby). Body blackish-brown ; dorsals bordered with whitish ; the
most common species on the coast of Europe. The extremities of
the superior rays of the pectorals are free ; length four or five inches.
G.jozzo, Bl. 107, f. 3. (The Blue Goby). Brown, marbled
with blackish ; blackish fins ; two white lines on the first dorsal,
whose rays are prolonged in filaments above the membrane.

G. minutus, L. ; Aflua, Penn., pi. 37. (The White Goby).
Body a pale fawn colour; fins whitish, transversely marked with
fawn-coloured lines; length, from two to three inches.

The Mediterranean, which is perhaps inhabited by these three species,
produces several others of different sizes and colours^.

G. capito, Cuv. ; Gesner, 396. (The Great Goby). Olive,
marbled with blackish ; lines of blackish points on the fins ; the
head broad and the cheeks inflated ; length one foot and more.

G. cruentutus, Gmel. (The Bloody Goby). Tolerably large;
brown, marbled with grey and red; lips and operculum marbled with

* Belon and Rondelet have endeavoured to prove that this fish is the Gobius of
the antients, and Artedi pretends to have found in the ocean the badly determined
Mediterranean species of those authors. Hence has arisen a most inextricable con-
fusion, to disentangle which it is necessary to recommence both descriptions and
figures, a ta-k we shall partially undertake in our Icthyology.

f These observations were made by the late Olivi, on a Goby of the canals of Ve-
nice, which he considers identical with the niger, but which is perhaps another of the
numerous Mediterranean species; they are given by M. de Martens in the second
volume of his Voy. to Venice, p. 419. My conclusion is, that the Goby is the Phycis
of the antients, " the only fish that constructs a nest." Arist. Hist., lib. V III, cap. xxx.

% See the descriptions, but without wholly adopting the nomenclature, of ltisso,
Icth. de Nice, p. 155, et seq.

154 FISHES.

a blood-red; red lines on the first dorsal; lines of salient points
forming an H on the nape of the neck, &c.

Some species are also found in fresh water ; such is the Gob. fiu-
viatilis, observed by Bonnelli in a lake in Piedmont, smaller than
the niijer, blackish, without the free pectoral filaments, and a black
spot above the branchial aperture. . A large one is obtained in the
environs of Bologna, the G. lota, Cuv. ; brown ; blackish veins on
the cheek; a little blackish spot on the base of the pectoral, and an-
other on each side of that of the caudal.

Among the Gobies foreign to Europe, we may observe the G. ma-
crocephalus ; Cottus macroeeph.. Pall., Nov. Act. Petrop., I, pi. x,
f. 4, 5, 6, on account of the extreme length of its head. The G.
lanceolatus, Bl. 33, 1; G. bato, Buch., pi. 37, f. 10; Eleotris lan-
ccolata, Bl., Schn., pi. xv, which we call the Gobius elongatus, on
account of their elongated form and pointed caudal*. The

Gobioides, Lacep.

Only differ from the Gobies in the union of their dorsals, which form but
one. Their body is more elongated -j\

T.enioides, Lacep.

These, with the single dorsal of the Gobioides, have a still more elon-
gated body. Their physiognomy is extremely singular; the upper jaw is
very short ; the lower, elevated and every where convex, ascends in front
of it, both being armed with long hooked teeth ; the eye is almost re-
duced to nothing, and is completely hidden under the skin. The cavity
of the mouth is occupied by a fleshy and nearly globular tongue, and there
are some small cirri beneath the lower jaw.

But one species is known, the Ttenioide Hermannien, Lacep.,
which lives in the mud of ponds, in the East Indies J.

Bloch, Schn., p. 63, very properly separates from the whole genus
Gobius the

Periopiitalmus, Schn.

Which have the entire head scaly; the eyes are brought quite together,
and provided at their inferior edge with an eyelid which can be made to
cover them, and the pectorals are covered with scales for more than half
their length, which give them the appearance of being attached to a sort
of upper limbs. Their gills being even narrower than those of other

* Among these species foreign to Europe, we may unhesitatingly place the Gobius
Plumieri, Bl. 175, 3;— G. lagocephalus, Pall. VIII, pi. 11, f. 6, 7;—G. Boddurti, Id.
lb., pi. 1, f. 5; — G. ocellaris, Brouss. Dec, pi. 1 1 ; — G. bosc, Lacep. II, xvi, 1, or G.
viridus-pallidus, Mitch, op. cit. I, 8, or G. alepidotus, Bl., Schn.; — G. Rvssclii, Cuv.,
Russ. I, 53; — G. giuris, Buchan., pi. xxxiii, f. 13; Russ. 1, 50; — G. chungua, Buch.
pi. V, f. 10; — the Bostrijche chinois, Lacep. II, xiv, and many new species to be de-
scribed in our Hist, des Poissons.

t Gob. Brvussonuet, Lacep. II, pi. xvii, f. 1, (Gob. obhngatus, Schn.; add, 548).

X It is the Ctepola cacula, BL, Schn., pi. liv,from a drawing by John; the Tirnidide
hirmamiiev, Lacep. II, six, 1, from a Chinese drawing; and the Gobioide rubkunda,
Bueh., pi. v, f. 9.

ACANTIIOPTERYGJANS. 155

Gobies, they can live out of water for a still longer period; and in the
Moluccas, their native country, they are seen creeping and leaping over
the mud, either to escape from their enemies, or to seize upon the small
Shrimps, which constitute their chief food.

Some of them have the concave disc-like ventrals of the true Gobies*.

The ventrals of others are divided nearly to the base"}".

I would also separate, as well as with Gronovius give the name of,

Eleotris, Gronov.

To those Fishes, which, like the Gobies, have flexible spines in the first
dorsal and the post-anal appendage, but whose ventrals are entirely dis-
tinct, the head obtuse and slightly depressed, the eyes at a distance from
each other, and which have six rays in the branchial membrane. Their
lateral line is but slightly marked, and their viscera are similar to those
of the Gobies. Most of them inhabit fresh water, and frequently live in
the mud.

E. dormitalrix, Cuv. ; Platycephalus dormitator, Bl., Schn. (The
Sleeper). Tolerably large, with a depressed head, inflated cheeks,
and fins spotted with black. From the marshes of the Antilles J.
They are also found in Senegal §, and in India ||.
A small species is taken on the coast of the Mediterranean, Gobius
auratus, Riss., of a golden colour, with a black spot on the base of
the pectoral ^j.

* Gobius ScJ/losseri, Pall., Spic. VIII, pi. 1, f. 1 — 4, to which must be added the
Gob. striatus, Schn., xvi, left among the Gobies, though it is hard to say why, since
it is a true Periophtalmus.

f Gobius Kcelreuteri, Pall., Spic. VIII, pi. 11, f. 13; — Per. ruber, Schn,; — Per. pa-
pilio, Schn., pi. xxv.

N. B. Both the Gobies and the Periophialmi with divided ventrals, according to the
system of M. de Lacepede, would be Gobiomores ; if, together with this division of
the ventrals, they had but one dorsal, they would be Gobiomoio'ides, but the species
arranged under these two genera have not all their characters. The Gob. Gronovii,
Cm., Marcgr. 153, does not belong to this family, it is our genus Nomeus of the
family of the Scombero'idcs. The Gobiomoroide pison, Gob. pisonis, Gm., Amore pixu-
tna, Marcgr. 166; Eleotris, 1, Gron., Mus. 16, has not the character of this genus;
for it has two dorsals both in the fig. of Marcgr., and in the description of Gronovius;
by its ventrals it is an Eleotris.

Bloch, Ed. Schn., p. 65, separates from the Gobies, and makes the genus Eleotris
different from that of Gronovius, which bears the same name, of those species whose
ventrals are merely united like a fan without being infundibuliform; but, in those
which I have examined, the membrane which unites the external edges in front is
merely somewhat shorter in proportion, which has prevented it from being observed,
and for this reason I leave them among the Gobies.

X It is the Gobiomore dormeur, Lactp. Add, the Guavina, Parr., pi. xxxix, f. 1;
— the Amore guaqu, Marcgr. C>6; — the Amore pixuma, Id. lb., or Gob. pisonis, Gm.

§ I infer this from a note attached to a dried skin presented to the Museum by
Adansun, and which is specifically different from the preceding ones.

|| The Gob. strigatus, Brouss. Dec, pi. 1, or Gobiomore tuiioa, Lacep. cop. Ency.
Method., f. 1SS; — the Eleotris noir, Quoy and G., op. cit., pi. lx, f. 2, and the Scia-na
tnacrolepido'a, Bl. 298, and metadata, Id. 299, 2, which constituted my former genus
Prochilus, which must be suppressed.

^f It is an Eleotris, and not a Goby.

156 fishes-.

Callionymus*, Lin.

The Callionymes or Dragonets have two strongly marked characters:
first, in their branchiae having but a single aperture, consisting of a hole
6n each side of the nape : and, secondly, their ventrals, which are placed
under the throat, are separate, and larger than the pectorals. Their head
is oblong and depressed, their eyes approximated and directed upwards,
their intermaxillaries very protractile, and their preopercula elongated be-
hind, and terminating in some spines. Their teeth are small and crowd-
ed, but there are none in the palate. They are pretty fishes with a smooth
skin, whose anterior dorsal, supported by a few setaceous rays, is some-
times very elevated. The second dorsal is elongated as well as the anal.
They have the same post-anal appendage as the preceding ones. There
is no cul de-sac to their stomach, and the natatory bladder and caeca are
wanting. One of them is common in the British Channel, the

Call, lyra, L. ; Bl. 1G1; Lacep. II, x, 1. (The Gemmeous
Dragonet, the Savory, or Doucet). The first dorsal elevated, and
the second ray extended into a long filament ; orange spotted with
violet. The Call, dracunculus, Bl. 162, only differs from it in the
first dorsal being short and without the filament; several authors
consider it the female. Some others are found in the Mediterra-
nean, such as

Call, lacerta, Cuv. (The Lacert). Rond. 304, and not so well,
Call, pusillus, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, xxv, 16. First dorsal
low; the second much elevated in the male; silvery points, and
white, black-edged lines on the flanks ; the caudal long and pointed f.
The

Triciionotus, Schn.

Appears to be a mere Callionymus with a very elongated body, whose single
dorsal and anal have a corresponding length. The two first rays of the
dorsal, extended into long setae, represent the first dorsal of the common
Callionymus. The branchiae, however, are said to be considerably cleft J.

Comethorus, Lacep.

Have the first dorsal very low; the muzzle oblong, broad, and depressed;
gills much cleft, with seven rays; very long pectorals, and what consti-
tutes their distinguishing character, a total absence of ventrals.

But one species is known, from Lake Baikal, the Calliovymus bai-
calensis, Pall. Nov. Act. Petrop. I, ix. 1 ; a foot long, of a soft

* CaUiovymiis (beautiful name), one of the names of the Uranoscopus among the
Greeks. Linnaeus applied it to the present genus.

f The Call, diacanlhus, Carmich., Lin. Trans. X 1 1, pi. xxvi, does not appear to me
to belong to this genus. The Call, indlcus, Lin., is nothing more than the P/aii/ce-
pkalus spatula, Bl. 42 k Add, Call, cithara, Cuv ; — C.jaculus, and other new Medi-
terranean species; and of species foreign to Europe, the C orientalis, Schn., pi. vi;
C. oceUatus, Pall. VIII, pi. iv, f. 13; — C. sagitla, Id. lb., f. -t, 5; and some others to be
described in our Icthyology.

+ Trichonotus se tiger us, Bl., Schn., pi. 39.

ACANTIIOPTERYGIANS. 157

fatty substance, from which oil is obtained by compression. It is
only to be had when dead, after a storm.

Platypterus, Kuhl and Van Hasselt.

Have the broad and separated ventrals of a Callionymus ; a short de-
pressed head; the mouth small, and branchiae open; scales broad; the
two dorsals short and separated*.

It is with some hesitation that I close this family with a genus which
will one day probably form the type of a separate family; I mean the

Chirus, Stell. — Labrax, Pall.

Fishes with a tolerably long body, furnished with ciliated scales ; a
small unarmed head; slightly cleft mouth, provided with small, unequal,
conical teeth, the spines of whose dorsal are almost always very delicate,
the fin itself extending the whole length of the back; their distinguishing
character consists in several series of pores, similar to the lateral line,
or, as it were, in several lateral lines. There are no caeca to the intes-
tines, and they frequently have an appendage on the eye-brow, as is the
case with certain Blennies, but their ventrals consist of five soft rays, as
usual. The species known are from the sea of Kamtschatkay.

FAMILY XIII.

I form, as the thirteenth family, the

PEDICULATED PECTORALES,

Out of certain Acanthopterygians, whose carpal bones are elongated so as
to form a sort of arm, which supports their pectorals. It comprises two
genera, which are closely approximated, although authors have generally
placed them at a considerable distance from each other, and which are
closely allied to the Gobioides.

Lopiiius j, Lin.

The Anglers have for their general character, independently of the
semi-cartilaginous skeleton and the naked skin, the pectorals supported by

* Platyptera melanocephala, K. and V. II.; PL trigonoeephala, Id.; two fishes from
India to be described in our Icthyology.

t Labrax higocephalu.i ; — L. dccogrammus ; — L. stiperciliosus ; — L. monopterygius ; —
L. ortogrammus ; — L. hexagrammus ; all described and figured by Pallas, Mem. Acad.
Petersb., vol. XI, 1810.

X Lopldus, a name made by Artedi, from Lophia (pinna), on account of the crests
of their head. The antients called them Batrachos, and Rana, or Frog.

15S FISHES.

two arms, as it were, each of which is formed of two bones that have been
compared to the radius and ulna, but which in reality belong to the carpus ,
and which in this genus are longer than in any other; in the ventrals
being placed very far before these pectorals ; in opercula and branchios-
tegous rays enveloped in the skin ; and, finally, in the only opening of the
gills being a hole situated behind the said pectorals. They are voracious
fishes, with a wide stomach and short intestine, which survive a long time
out of water, on account of the smallness of their branchial apertures.

Lophius, Cuv.

The Anglers, properly so called, have the head excessively large in
proportion to the rest of the body, very broad and depressed, and spinous
in many places; the mouth deeply cleft and armed with pointed teeth;
the lower jaw furnished with numerous cirri; two distinct dorsals, some
rays of the first separated before and moveable on the head, where they
rest on a horizontal interspinal; the branchial membrane forming a very
large sac, opening in the axilla, and supported by six very long rays ; the
operculum small. There are but three branchiae on each side. It is
asserted that these fishes live in the mud, where, by agitating the rays of
their head, they attract smaller ones, who take the often enlarged and
fleshy extremities of those rays for worms, and thus become their victims;
it is also said that they can seize or retain them in their branchial sac*.
They have two very short caeca near the origin of the intestine, but no
natatory bladder.

L. piscatorius, L. ; Bl. 87; Sea-Devil; Galanga, &c. (The
Common Angler, or Frog Fish). A large fish, of from four to five
feet in length, inhabiting the seas of Europe, whose hideous figure
has rendered it celebrated.

L. parvipinnis, Cuv. A very similar species, that is found in
the same seas ; its second dorsal, however, is lower, and it has only
twenty-five vertebrae, while the piscatorius has thirty -f".

Chironectes. — Antennarius, Commers.

The Hand- Fishes have four rays on the head, as in the Anglers ; the
first of which is slender, and frequently terminating in a tuft; the suc-
ceeding ones, augmented by a membrane, are sometimes much enlarged,
and at others united into a fin. The body and head are compressed; the
mouth cleft vertically : the only opening of the branchia?, which are fur-
nished with four rays A is a canal and a small hole behind the pectoral; the
dorsal occupies nearly the whole length of the back. The entire body is

* Geoff. Ann. du Mus. X, p. 180.

f We are ignorant whether it is the Lnpldas budecassa of M. Spinola and Risso or
not, that species being described as more fawn-coloured and varied than the common
one.

Add, the Loplt. setigerus, Vahl, Soc. Hist. Nat. Copenh. IV, p. 215, and pi. iii, f. 5
and 6, improperly named viviparus by 131., Syst, pi. xxxii.

N. B. The Baudroye Ferguson, Lacep., Phil. Trans. LI 1 1, xiii; the Lophius cornu-
bicus of Sh., Borlase, Corn, xxvii, C; the L. barbatus, Gmel., Act. Stockh., 1779,
3rd Cah. fasc. Ill, pi. iv, are merely altered specimens of the piscatorius; the L. me-
nopterygius, Shaw, Nat. Misc. 202 and 203, is a Torpedo disfigured by the stuffer.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 159

frequently provided with cutaneous appendages; there are four branchiae;
the natatory bladder is large, and the intestine moderate, and without caeca.
These fishes, by filling their enormous stomachs with air, are enabled to
expand their belly like a balloon; on land, their pairs of fins enable them
to creep almost like small quadrupeds, the pectorals, from their position,
performing the functions of hind feet, and thus they live out of water for
two or three days. They are found in the seas of hot climates, and se-
veral of them were confounded by Linnaeus under the name of Lophius
histrio *.

We might distinguish those species in which the second and third rays
are united in a fin, which is even sometimes joined to the second dorsal f.

Malthe, Cuv.

The Beaked Anglers have the head excessively enlarged and flattened,
chiefly by the projection and volume of the suboperculum ; the eyes very
much forwards ; the snout salient, like a small horn ; the mouth, beneath
the snout, moderate and protractile ; the branchiae supported by six or
seven rays, and opening on the dorsal surface by a hole above each pec-
toral: a single, small, and soft dorsal; the body studded with osseous tu-
bercles ; cirri on the whole length of its sides ; but there are no free rays
on the head. The caeca and natatory bladder are wanting J.

Batrachus, Bl. Schn. — Batracoides, Lac.§

The head horizontally flattened, broader than the body; the mouth
well cleft; operculum and suboperculum spinous; six branchial rays; the
ventrals nanow, inserted under the throat, and formed of but three rays,
the first of which is elongated and widened; pectorals supported by a
short arm, the result of the elongation of the carpal bones. The first
dorsal is short, and supported by three spinous rays; the second is soft
and long, as well as that of the anus, which corresponds to it. The lips
are frequently furnished with filaments. Those which have been dis-

* Species: — Chiron, pictus, Cuv., or Lophius histrio-piclu.i, Bl., Schn. 142, or Mem.
Mus. Ill, xvi, 1 ; — Ch. tumidtis, Cuv., Mus. Ad. Fred., p. 56; — Ch. lavigatus, Cuv., or
L. gibbas, Mitch, op. cit. I, vi, 9;—Ch. marmoratus, or L. Hist. Marm., Bl., Schn. 142,
Klein, Misc. Ill, 3, 4, or L. raninus, Tiles., Mem. Nat. Mosc. II, jrrij-^-CA. hispidus,
BL, Schn. 143, Mem. Mus. Ill, xvii, 2;—Ch. scaler, lb. XVI, 2, or Guaperva,
Marcgr. 150 (but not the figure), L. histrio, BL, pi. cxi; — Ch. biocellatus, Cuv., Mem.
Mus. Ill, xvii, 3;— Ch. ocellatus, or L. histr. ocell., BL, Schn. 143, Parra, 1; — Ch. ra-
rifgatus, or L. chironecte, Lacep. I, xiv, 2, or L. pictus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. V, part II,
pi. clxv; — Ch.furcipilis, Cuv. Mem. Mus. Ill, xvii, 1; Laet. Ind. Occ. 574, a figure
given for the guaperva, Marcgr. 150; — Ch.nummifer, Cuv. Mem. Mus. Ill, xvii, 4; —
Ch. Commerstnii, Cuv., Lacep. I, xiv, 3, and very badly, Hen. I, xliii, 212; — Ch. tubc-
rosu.i, Cuv.

f Ch. punctatus, Cuv. Mem. Mus. Ill, xviii, 2, and Lacep. Ann. Mus. IV, lv, 3;
— Ch. unipinnis, Cuv. Mem. Mus. Ill, xviii, 3, Lacep. Ann. Mus. Ill, xviii, 4.

X Lophius vesper tilio, L., Bl. 110; — Malth. nasuta, Cuv., Seb. I, lxxiv, 2; — M. no-
tata, Cuv.; — M. angiista, Cuv., the skeleton of which is found in Rosenthal, PL
Icthy. t. XIX, 2; — M. truncata, Cuv.; — M. stellata, Cuv., or Lophius stcllatus, VabL,
Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Copenh. IV, pi. iii, f. 3, 4, the same as the Lophie fatijas,
Lacep. I, xi, 2, 3, and the Lophius ruber, Til., Krusenstein's Voy. LXI.

§ Uatrachos, frog, from their broad head.

IGO FISHES.

sected present a stomach resembling an oblong sac, and short intestines,
but there is no caecum. The fore-part of the natatory bladder is deeply
bifurcated. They keep themselves hidden in the sand, to surprise their
prey, like the Lophius, &c. ; the wounds inflicted by their spines are re-
puted dangerous. They are found in both oceans.

Some of them have a smooth and fungous skin, and a cutaneous ap-
pendage over the eye*.

Others are covered with scales, and have no appendage over the eye-f.

We might distinguish those in which the scales and cirri are wanting,
but which have lines of pores pierced in the skin J, and hooked teeth in
the lower jaw.

The fourteenth family of the Acanthopterygians, or that of

FAMILY XIV.

LABROIDES,

Is easily recognized; the body is oblong and scaly; a single dorsal is
supported in front by spines, each of which is generally furnished with a
membranous appendage ; the jaws are covered with fleshy lips ; there are
three pharyngeals, two upper ones attached to the cranium, and a large
lower one, all three armed with teeth, now as if paved, and then pointed
or laminiform, but generally stronger than usual; an intestinal canal
either without caeca, or with two very small ones, and a strong natatory
bladder.

Labrus, Lin.,

Form a very numerous genus of fishes, which strongly resemble each
other in their oblong form ; their double fleshy lips, from which they de-
rive their name, one adhering immediately to the jaws, and the other to
the suborbitals; their crowded branchiae with five rays; their conical
maxillary teeth, the middle and anterior of which are the longest, and
their cylindrical and blunt pharyngeal teeth arranged as if paved, the up-
per ones on two large plates, the lower on a single one which corresponds
to the two others. Their stomach does not form a cul-de-sac, but is con-
tinuous with an intestine without caeca, which, after two inflexions, termi-
nates in a large rectum. They have a single and strong natatory bladder.

* Batr. tau (Gadus tau, L.), or Lophhig hufo, Mitch., or Batrachoide verneul, Le-
sneur, Mem. Mus. V, xvii;— Batr. varie, Id. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. ;— Batr. grunniens,
(Cottas grunniens, L.), Bl. 179, Seb. Ill, xxiii, 4; — Batr. gangene, Buch. XIV, 8; —
Batr. dubius, Cuv., or L. dubius, J. White, 265, Nieuhof, Ap., Will. Ap. IV. 1; —
Batr. l-spinis. Cuv., or Batr. diemcnsis, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad.

•f- Batr. surinamensis, Bl. Schn. pi. vii, given as the Tau, Lacep. II, xii, 1; — B.
conspicillum, Cuv., or the pretended Batr. tau, Bl. pi. lxvii, f. 2 and 3.

X Batr. porosissimus, Cuv., Niqui, Marcgr. 178, or the second Niqui of Pison, 295.
N. B. The first Niqui of Pison, 294, is a badly copied figure from the collection
called Mentzel's, to which the engraver has added scales.

ACANTIIOPTEUYGIANS. 161

Labrus, properly so called, and vulgarly, Old Women of the Sea,

Have the opercula and preopercula without spines or dentations; the
cheek and operculum covered with scales; the lateral line straight, or
nearly so. The seas of Europe produce several species, the variation of
whose colours rarely allows them to he clearly distinguished*.

L. maculatus, Duham. Sect. IV, pi. ii, f. 1 ; Lab. maculatus, Bl.
284? Lab. beryilta, Ascan. Ic. I. From a foot to eighteen inches in
length; twenty or twenty-one dorsal spines; blue or greenish above,
white beneath; every where chequered with fawn-colour, which
sometimes becomes general \.

L. variegatus, Gm. ; L. lineatus, Penn. XLV, cop. Encycl. 402.
One or more clouded, irregular, dark bands along the flank, on a
ground more or less reddish; sixteen or seventeen spines in the
dorsal, which is marked with a dark spot in front J.

L. carneus, Bl. ; L. trimaculatus, L., Bl. 289. Reddish; three
black spots on the hind part of the back.

L. turdus, Gm.; Salvian. 87. Green, more or less deep; scat-
tered spots sometimes resembling mother-of-pearl, sometimes brown;
frequently a mother-of-pearl band along the flank. §.

L. merula, Gm. ; Salvian. 87. Black, more or less bluish; the
dorsal of these three species contains from sixteen to eighteen
spines. The last one is only obtained from the Mediterranean ||.

Cheilinus, Lacep.

The Cheilines differ from Labrus, properly so called, in the interruption
of the lateral line opposite the end of the dorsal; it recommences a little
lower down. The scales on the end of the tail are large, and somewhat
envelope the base of the caudal. They are beautiful fishes from the In-
dian Ocean ^f.

* With respect to these fishes we can neither trust to the figures of Bloch, nor to
the description of Gmelin.

f The Vieille tacketee was indicated by Lacep., under the name of Labre neus-
ti ien. It is possible that the Labrus maculatus, Bl. 294, was a bad figure of it, taken
from a dried specimen whose colours had been entirely changed; the Labrus tinea,
Shaw, Nat, Misc. 426, and Gen. Zool. IV, pi. ii, p. 499, is a beautiful variety, red
spotted with white, but is not the tinea of Lin.; the Lab. ballan, Penn. 44, cop.
Encyl. 400, is the fawn-coloured variety; the L. comber, Penn. XLII, cop. Encycl.
405, is a red variety, with a suite of white spots along the flank.

% The only good drawing of this fish is that of Pennant; I suspect the Labi: ve-
tuia, Bl. 293, to be an altered figure of the same; it is, in the nuptial season, the
Turdus perbelle pictus, of Willoughb. 322, and the Sparusformosus, Shaw, Nat. Misc.

§ I am of the opinion that the Lab. viridis, and the Lab. luicus, Lin., are vani-
ties of this Turdus, which is subject to great changes of colour. The Lab. viridis,
Bl. 2S2, is a Julis, Cuv., and differs from that of Linnaeus.

|| Add, Lab. americavus, Bl. Schn., or Tautoga, Mitch, pi. iii, 1 ; — L.herisse, Lacep,
III, xx, 1: — L. large queue, Id. Ill, ix, 3; — L. deux croissants, Id. Ill, xxxii, 2; —
L. Diane, Id. Ill, 1.

N.B. Cheiiion dore, the Ckeil. auratus, Commers., Lacep. IV, 433, or the Labrus
inermis, of Forsk. (/•. Hassec, Lacep.), and Voy. Freycin. Zool. pi. 54, No. 2, is
merely a very slender Labrus with llexible dorsal spines.

^1 The Cheiline trilobe, Lacep. Ill, xxxi, 3, the same as the Sparta chlorurus, Bl.
260 ;— Sparus radialus, Bl. Schn. 56;— Sparus fascial us, Bl. 257, which is also the
VOL. II. SI

162 FISHES.

Lachnolaimus, Cuv.

The Captains have the general character of a true Lahrus, but the
pharyngeals have not the teeth as if paved, except at their posterior part,
the remainder of their extent, as well as a part of the palate, being covered
with a villous membrane. These fishes are recognized at sight by the
first spines of their dorsal, which rise in long flexible filaments. The
species known are from America*.

Julis, Cuv.

The Girelles have the head entirely smooth and without scales; the
lateral line forming an elbow opposite the end of the dorsal. Some spe-
cies are found in the seas of Europe.

J. vulgaris; L alius julis, L., Bl. 287, f. 1. (The Girelle). A
small fish remarkable for its beautiful violet hue, relieved on each
side by a zigzag line of a rich orange colour, &c. It varies greatly,
is the best known of the Mediterranean species, and is also found in
the ocean.

J. Gioffredi, Risso. (The Red Girelle). A fine scarlet ; a black
spot at the angle of the operculum ; a gilt band along the flanks ;
inhabits both the Mediterranean and the ocean.

/. turcica, Risso. (The Turquoise Girelle). A rich green ; a
red streak on each scale; the head red, with blue lines; one or more
vertical bands of a turquoise blue ; a black spot on the pectoral ; tail
shaped like a crescent; one of the most beautiful fishes of the Me-
diterranean.
Hot climates produce numerous species of this fish, most of which are
splendidly and variously coloured.

Some of them have a rounded or truncated caudal -j-; the first dorsal
rays of others;}; are drawn out into filaments.

Labre enneacanthe, Lacep. Ill, p. 490; — Labrus fasciatus, Bl. 290, which is also the
Labre malapleronote, Lacep. Ill, xxxi, 1; the figure to which should he referred the
description of the Labre fuligineux, Id. Ill, p. 493, but not the fig., which is that of
the Mesoprion uninotatus ; — Labrus melagaster, Bl. 296, 1; — L. diagramme, Lacep. Ill,
1, 2; — L. lunula, Forsk. N. B. The Labrus scarus, L., (Cheiline scare, Lacep.), was
merely established by Artedi and Linnaeus on an equivocal description of Belon,
Aquat. lat. ed. p. 239, and Obs. p. 21, where it is impossible to ascertain even the
genus of the fish of which he speaks. The fig. and description of Rondelet, Lib. VI,
cap. II, p. 164, usually quoted with those of Belon, refer to a totally different fish of
the genus Sparus. The true Scarus of the Greeks is another fish, as we shall soon
see.

* Lachnolaimus suillus, Cuv.; Catesb. II, xv; — L. caninus, Cuv., Parra, pi. iii, f. 2.

f Species with a round or truncated tail ; Labre parterre, Lacep. Ill, xxix, 2, the
same as the Echiquier, Id. p. 493; — L. trilobe, Id. Ill, iv, 3; — L. tenioure, Lac. Ill,
xxix, 1, the same as his Spare hemisphere, III, xv, 3, and probably as his Spare bra-
chion, III, xviii, 3; — L. ceinture, Id. Ill, xxviii, 1; — L.brasiliensis, Bl. 2S0; — L. ma-
crolepidotus, Bl. 284, 2; — L. guttatus, Bl. 287, 2; — L. cyanocephalus, Bl. 286; — L. ma~
lapterus, Bl. 285; — L. chloropterus, Bl. 288; — L. bivittatus, 284, 1; — Julis crotaphus,
Cuv., Parra, XXXVII, \;—L. albovittatus, Ksehlr. Nov. Com. Pet, IX, 458, and
Encycl. 399; — L.mola, Cuv., Russ. II, 120; — L. margaritiferus, Cuv., or Gir. La-
biche, Voy. Freycin. Zool. pi., f. 3; — L. ornalus, Carmich. Lin. Trans. XII, xxvii.

X The Girelle Gaymard, Voy. Freycin. pi. liv, which is also the Sparus cretus,
Forst. and Renard, part I, pi. ii, No. 11. and part II, 160. N. B. The Coris of M.

ACANTIIOPTERYGIANS. 163

Others again, have a crescent-shaped or bifurcated tail*.

Anampses, Cuv.,

Have all the characters of a Girdle, with the exception of two flat teeth
in the jaws, which project from the mouth, and curve outwards.

But one or two species are known; from the Indian Ocean j-.

Crenilabrus, Cuv.,

Which we separate from the Lutjanus of Bloch, in order to arrange them
in their proper place, have all the characters, external and internal, of a
true Labrus, and only differ in the dentation of the border of their pre-
operculum.

Some of them are taken in the northern seas; such as the Lut-
janus rupestris, Bl. 250; fawn-coloured, with clouded, blackish ver-
tical bands. Lutjanus norvegicus, Id. 256; brownish, irregularly
spotted and marbled with deep brown. Labrus melops ; orange,
spotted with blue; a black spot behind the eye; pi. xxi, f. 1. Za-
brus exoletus, or L. palloni, Risso ; remarkable for the five spines of
its anal £.

The Mediterranean produces a great number which are decorated
with the most beautiful colours; the most splendid is the Labrus
lapina, Forsk. ; silvery, with three broad longitudinal bands formed
of vermillion dots, yellow pectorals, the ventrals blue, &c.§ They

de Lacepede, established by that naturalist from the drawings of Commerson, have
turned out to be fishes of the present genus with truncated tails, the artist having
neglected to express the separation of the operculum from the preoperculum. The
Coris angule, III, iv, 2, appears to be the Labrus malapterus ; and the Coris aigrette,
III, iv, 1, must be closely allied to the Girelle Gaymard. M. de Lacepede has also
named Hologymnoses some of these fishes, in which the scales of the body, smaller
than usual, are concealed during life by a thick epidermis; but the scales which do
not appear in the drawing of Commerson, engraved Lacep. Ill, pi. 1, f. 3, are very
visible in the dried specimen deposited in the Museum; that genus must therefore be
included in Julis, together with the Demi-Disque, III, pi. vi, £ 1; the Annele, lb. pi.
xxviii, and the Cercle, which at least are closely allied to it.

* Species with crescent-shaped or forked tails; Labre hebru'ique, Lacep. Ill, xxix,
3; — Labrus bifasciatus, Bl. 2S3; — L. lunaris, L., Gron. Mus. II, vi, 2, cop. Encycl.
196; — L. lunaris, Bl. 281, which is different, and may possibly be nothing more than
an altered Julis turcica; — L. viridis, Bl. 282; — L. brasiliensis, Bl. 280; — Julis coeru-
leocephalus, Cuv., or Girelle Duperrey, Voy. Freycin. Zool.pl. f. 333; — L. argente,
Lac. Ill, xviii. N. B. The Scarus gallus, Forsk., is probably the same as the Lab.
lunaris.

f Labrus tetrodon, Bl. Schn. 263; — Anampses Cuvieri, Quoy and Gaym. Voy.
Freycin. Zool. pi. Iv, f. 1.

X Add, Lab. gibbus, Penn. xlvi, copied Encycl. 403; — Lutj. virescens, Bl. 254, 1.

§ Risso describes several in his first edition under the name of Lutjanus; in the
second he adopts our genus Crenilabrus, and carries the number of species to
twenty-eight; but all his species are not distinct, and his synonymes are sometimes
uncertain. His species should be compared with those of Brunnich, Bloch, iS:c.
The Lab. venoms, Brunn.; — L.fuscus, Brunn.; — L. unimaculatus, Brunn.; — Lutjanus
roslratus, Bl. 254, 2, perhaps the Cr. tinea, Risso; — Lab. 5-maculatus, Bl. 291, 2, is
the Crenil. Roissal, Risso; — Lutj. bidens, Bl. 251, 1; — Lab. mediterraneus, Brunn.; —
Lab: rubens, Brunn.; — Lab. perca, Brunn.; — Lab. spalatcnsis, Br.; — Lab. tinea,
Brunn.; — Lab. ocellatus, Forsk., or olivaceus, Brunn., &c.

M 2

164 FISHES.

abound also in the seas of hot climates *, and several species hitherto
left among the Labri should be placed here.

Coricus, Cuv.

The Sublets have, with all the characters of a Crenilabrus, the mouth
nearly as protractile as that of an Epibulus.

The species known are small, and from the Mediterranean j.

We must remove the following fishes from the genus Sparus, in order
to place them near Coricus or Cheilinus : —

Epibulus, Cuv.

The Filous are remarkable for the excessive protractility of their
mouth, which, by a see-saw motion of their maxillaries, and the sliding
forwards of their intermaxillaries, instantly becomes a kind of tube.
They employ this artifice to capture the small fry which pass within reach
of this singular instrument; it is also resorted to by the Corici, Zei and
Smares, according to the greater or less protractility of their jaws.

The entire body and head of an Epibulus is covered with large scales,
the last range of which even encroaches upon the anal and caudal fins, as
is the case in Cheilinus; the lateral line is similarly interrupted, and, as
in the latter and in Labrus, there are two long conical teeth in front of
each jaw, followed by smaller blunt ones ; we have not had an opportunity
of observing those in the pharynx.

But a single species is known ; Sparus insidiator, Pal. Spic.

Zool. Fasc. VIII, pi. v, 1, of a reddish colour. From the Indian

Ocean.

Clepticus, Cuv.

Have a small cylindrical snout, which is suddenly protruded like that of
an Epibulus, but which is not as long as the head; the small teeth barely
perceptible to the touch; the body is oblong, head obtuse, and the lateral
line continuous; the dorsal and anal enveloped by scales nearly to the
summit of the spines.

C. genizara, Cuv.; Parra, pi. xxi, f. 1. The only species known;
of a purple red. From the Antilles.

Gomphosus, Lacep. — Elops, Commers.

The Gomphoses are Labroides, with an entirely smooth head, as in
Julis ; but, owing to the prolongation of the intermaxillaries and maxilla-
ries, which are united by the teguments as far as the small opening of the
mouth, the muzzle is made to resemble a long thin tube J.

* At the head of the list should be the Lutjanus verres, Bl. 255, the same as his
Bodianus bodianus, 223, and as the Perro Colorado, Parra, pi. Ill, f. 1. — Add, Lutja-
nus notatus, Bl. 251, 2; — L. violaceus, or L. Linkii, Bl. 252; — L. virescens, Bl. 254, 1;
— Lab. burgall, Schcepp., or L. chogset, Mitch. Ill, 2? — L. chrysops, Bl. 248.

f The Lutjanus viridens, and the L. Lamarkii, Riss., first edition. In the second
he adopts this subgenus, and adds to it a Coricus rubescens.

J Gomphosus viridis, Cuv., or G. Lacepcde, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freycin. Zool.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 1G5

They are taken in the Indian Ocean, and the flesh of certain spe-
cies is held in the highest estimation*.

XlRICIITHYS, ClW.,

Are fishes resembling a Labrus as to form, but are much compressed; the
front descends suddenly towards the mouth in a trenchant and almost, ver-
tical line, formed by the aethmoid and the ascending branches of the inter-
maxillaries. Their body is covered with large scales ; the lateral line is
interrupted; the jaws are armed with a range of conical teeth, the central
ones longest; the pharynx is paved with hemispherical teeth; the intes-
tinal canal is continuous with two flexures without caeca; no cul-de-sac to
the stomach; a tolerably long natatory bladder. Until we arranged them
otherwise, they were always placed by naturalists among the Coryphaenae,
from which they greatly differ, both internally and externally. They ap-
proximate most to Labrus, only differing in the profile of the head-}-. The
greater number have a naked head. Such is

X. novacula; Coryphcena novacula, L. ; Rondel. 146; Salv. 117.

(The Razor Fish of the Mediterranean). Red, variously striped

with blue. The flesh is esteemed J.

Some of them have a scaly cheek §, and others are distinguished by
small scales [|.

Chromis^", Cuv.,

Have the lips, protractile intermaxillaries, pharyngeal bones, dorsal fila-
ments, and port, of a Labrus; but the teeth of the pharynx and jaws re-
semble those of a card, and there is a range of conical ones in front. The
vertical fins are filamentous, those of the belly being even frequently ex-
tended into long threads; the lateral line is interrupted; the stomach
forms a cul-de-sac, but has no caeca.

C. vulgaris; Sparus chromis, L. ; Petit Castagneau, Rondel. 152.
(The Common or Black Coracinus of the antients). A small ches-
nut-brown fish, taken by thousands in the Mediterranean.

C. niloticus; Lab. niloticus, the Bolti, Hasselq. 346; Sonnini,

pi. lv, f. 2; — G. cceruleus, Lacep. Ill, pi. v, f. 1, or Acarauna longirostris, Sevastianof,
Nov. Act. Petrop. "xiii, t. XI; — G. variegatus, Lacep. lb. f. 2.

Gomphosus, from the Greek gompltos, a wedge.

* Renard, Poissons de la mer des Indes, part II, pi. xii, f. 109. Commerson,
however, says that the cceruleus is but indifferent food.

f The sharp edge of the head of the Coryphaenae is owing to the interparietal
crest; their scales are small and soft; their cffica numerous. See Mem. du Mus. II,
324.

% The Coryph. Uneolata, Rafin., Caratt. 33, does not differ from the novacula; but
the Novacula coryphcena, of Risso, is nothing more than the Centrolophus. The
Coryph. ccerulea, Bl. 176, is a Scarus. — Add, Cor. psitlacus, L., and some new species.

§ Coryphcena pmladac/yla, Bl. 173, or Blennius maculh, 5, &c. Ankarstrom,
Stockh. Mem. pi. iii, f. 2. Linnaeus has confounded it with the five-toed fish of
Nieuhof, Willoughb. App. pi. viii, f. 2, which is a mere Pilot-fish, thereby inducing
M. de Lacepede to make his genus Hemipteronotus of it, whose characters by no
means correspond to this Xirichthys.

|| Rason Vecluse, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freycin. Zool. pi. lxv, f. 1.

^f Chromis, Chremis, Chreme, Greek names of an unascertained fish.

163 FISHES.

pi. xxvii, f. 1 *. (The White or Egyptian Coracinus of the antients).
Found in the Nile ; it is two feet long, and is considered the best fish
of Egypt.

Cychla, Bl. Schn.

They differ from the preceding genus by their teeth being small and
crowded, forming a broad band, as well as by the greater elongation of the
bodyj - .

Plesiops, Cuv.,

Are Chromis with a compressed head, approximated eyes, and extremely
long ventrals.

Malacanthus, Cuv.

The Malacauths have the general characters of a Labrus, and similar
maxillary teeth, but the pharyngeal teeth are like those of a card, as in
Chromis, &c. ; the body is elongated, the lateral line continuous, and the
operculum terminated by a small spine; the long dorsal has but a small
number of spines; the anterior ones thin and flexible.

A species is found in the French Antilles, called by the inhabi-
tants Vive; it is the Coryphcene Plumier, Lacep. IV, viii, I; yel-
lowish, irregularly and transversely streaked with violet^ ; a crescent-
shaped tail.

Scarus, Lin.

The Parrot Fishes are remarkable for their jaws, (that is, their inter-
maxillary and pre-mandibular bones), being convex, rounded, and fur-
nished with teeth, which are arranged like scales upon their edge, and
upon their anterior surface ; these teeth succeed each other from behind

* Add, Labrus punclatus, Bl. 295, 1;— Labre filamenteux, Lac. Ill, xviii, 2; — Lab.
15-epincs, Id. lb. XXV, 1; — Sparus surinamensis, Bl. 277, 2; — Cheetodon suratensis,
Bl. 217?— Perca bimaculata, Bl. 310, 1.

f I strike out many species from the genus Cychla as constituted by Bloch, but
I leave there, C. saxat'dis, Bl. 309; — C. ocellaris, Bl. Schn. pi. lxvi; — C. argus,
Valenc. App. Humb. Obs. Zool. torn. II, p. 109; — perhaps the C. brasiliensis, Bl.
310, 2, and new species. But the C. erythrura, Bl. 2C1, and the C. argyrea, are
Gerres; the C. cutting, a Cjesio; the C. brama, a Cantharus; the C. macrophtal-
ma, Bl. 268, the C.japonica, Id. 277, 1, the C. cynodon, Id. 278, 1, belong to Den-
tex; the C. surinamensis, Id. 277, 2, and the C. bimaculata, Id. 310, 1, to Chromis;
the C. guttata, Bl. 312, the C. maculata, Id. 313, the C. punctata, Id. 314, to Serra-
Nus, or, according to the system of Bloch, to Bodianus. The C. pelagica is the
Caranxomore of Lacep., or the Coryphana pelagica, L. It is easily seen that
Bloch was quite as unfortunate in the construction of his genus Cychla, as in that
of Grammistes.

The Hiatulm would be Labri without an anal fin; but a single species, however, is
quoted (from Carolina), and that merely from a note by Garden, which requires con-
firmation (Labrus hiatula, L.). It is not easy to imagine why Bloch, Schn. p. 481,
placed it in Trachypterus.

% N. B. This fig., taken from Plumier,"was altered by Bloch to represent his Cory-
plicena Plumieri, pi. 175. Lacepede gives a more exact one. It is also the Mate-
juelo bianco of Parra, XIII, 1, or the Sparus oblongus, Bl. Schn. 283.

Add, the Tubleu of the Isle of France, or Labre large raie, Lacep. Ill, xxviii, 2,
the description of which is found, tome IV, p. 204, under the name of Tanianote
lurge raie.

ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 167

forwards, so that those of the hase are the newest, and in process of time
form a row on the edge. Naturalists have erroneously thought that the
bone itself was naked. These jaws, during the life of the fish, are covered
besides by fleshy lips, but there is no double one adhering to the subor-
bital. They have the oblong form of a Labrus, large scales, and an in-
terrupted lateral line ; they have three pharyngeal plates, two above and
one below, furnished with teeth as in a Labrus; but these teeth are trans-
verse blades, and not like rounded paving-stones.

A species which assumes a blue or red colour, according to the
season, is found in the Archipelago, which is the Scarus creticus,
Aldrov. Pise. p. 8 ; and which late researches have convinced me is
the Scarus, so highly celebrated among the antients: the same that
Elipertius Optatus, commander of a Roman fleet, during the reign of
Claudius, went to Greece in search of, for the purpose of distributing
it through the sea of Italy. It is an article of food in Greece at the
present day*.

Numerous species are found in the seas of hot climates. The form of
their jaws and the splendonr of their colours have caused them to receive
the vulgar appellation of Parrot-fishes.

Some of them have a crescent-shaped tail-j-, and of these a few with a
singularly gibbous forehead J.

In others it is truncated §. We separate from Scarus the

Calliodon, Cuv.,

In which the lateral teeth of the upper jaw are separate and pointed, and
in which there is an inner range of much smaller ones on the same |] ; and
the

Odax, Cuv.,

Which approach a true Labrus in the inflated lips and in the continuous
lateral line ; the jaws, composed like those of a Scarus, are however flat
and not gibbous, and are covered by the lips; the pharyngeal teeth are
arranged as if paved, as in Labrus ^[.

* N. B. It is not the Sc. crctensis of Bloch, 228.

f Scarus coccineus, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXVIII, 2, which is the Spams abildgardii,
Bl. 259, and the Spare rougeor, Lacep. Ill, xxxiii, 3; — the Great Scarus with blue
jaws, Sc. guueamaia, Cuv., Parra, XXVI; — the Sc. Catesby, Lacep., Catesb. II, xxix;
— the Sc. bride, Lacep, IV, 1, 2; — Sc. chrysopterus, BL, Schn. 57; — Sc. capitaneus,
Cuv., which is the Sc. enneacanthe, Lacep. IV, "p. 6, and his Sc. denticule, id., p. 12
and pi. 1, f. 1, and of which he gives a description annexed to the Sc. chadri.

X Sc. Ivro, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXVII, 1 ;— Sc. cceruleus, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXVII,
2, and Catesb. II, xiii, which is also the Coryphana coerulea, Bl. 176, and what is
more extraordinary, the Spare holocyanose, Lacep. Ill, xxxiii, 2, and IV, p. 441, de-
rives its origin from the same drawing of Plumier as this figure of Bloch.

§ Sc.vetula, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXVIII, 1; — Sc. tceniopterus, Desmarest) — Sc.
chloris, Parr. XXVIII, 3; — Sc. psittacus, Forsk.; — Sc. viridis, Bl.

|| Scarus spinidens, Quoy and Gaym., Zool. Voy. Freycin., p. 289, and some new
species.

Tf Scarus pullus, Forster, BL, Schn. 288.

168 FISHES.

The fifteenth and last family of the Acanthopterygians, or that of

FAMILY XV.

FLUTE-MOUTHS,

Sometimes called Tobacco-pipe Fish, have for their distinguishing char-
acter a long tube in front of the cranium, which is only a continuation of
the gethmoid bone, the vomer, the preopercula, the interopercula, the pte-
rygoid, and tympanal bones: at the extremity of this tube is observed the
mouth, which is formed in the usual way by the intermaxillary, maxillary,
palatine, and mandibular bones. Their intestine is not marked by any
considerable inequalities, or by numerous folds, and the ribs are short or
altogether absent. One portion of the Flute-Mouths (the Fistularia)
have the body cylindrical; the other (the Centriscus) have it oval and
compressed.

Fistularia, Lin.

The Tubular Fishes take their name in particular from the long tube
which is common to the whole family. The jaws are at its extremity,
slightly cleft in a neai'ly horizontal direction. This head, thus elongated,
constitutes the third or fourth of the total length of the body, which is it-
self long and thin. There are six or seven rays in the branchiae, and
some bony appendages extend behind the head, upon the anterior part of
the body, which they strengthen more or less. The dorsal is opposite to
the anal; the stomach, resembling a fleshy tube, is continued in a straight
canal, without duplicatures, to the commencement of which are attached
two caeca. In

Fistularia, Lacep.,

The Fistularia, properly so called, there is but a single dorsal, composed
for the most part, as well as the anal, of simple rays. The intermaxilla-
ries and the lower jaw are armed with small teeth. From between the
two lobes of the caudal proceeds a filament which is sometimes as long as
the body. The tube of the snout is very long and depressed, the natatory
bladder excessively small, and the scales invisible. They are found in
the seas of hot climates in both hemispheres*. In the

Aulostomus-j-, Lacep.,

The dorsal is preceded by several free spines, and the jaws are without
teeth ; the body, very scaly and less slender, is widened and compressed
between the dorsal and the anal, and following it is a short and very small
tail, terminated by a common fin. The tube of the snout is shorter,
thicker, and compressed; natatory bladder very large.

* Fistularia tabacaria, Bl. 387, 1; Fist, serrata, Id., lb. 2; are from America,
Marcgr. 148, Catesb. II, xvii; — Fist, immaculata, Commers., J. White, p. 296, f. 2, is
from the Indian Ocean.

t Aulostomus, from the Greek c.ulos, a flute, and stoma, a mouth.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. Ifi9

But a single species is known; from the Indian Ocean*.

Centriscusj, Lin.,

Vulgarly called the Becasses de Mer, or Sea-Snipes, have, in addition to
the tubular snout of this family, an oval or oblong, but unelongated body,
compressed on the side, and trenchant beneath; branchiae composed of
but two or three slender rays; a first spinal dorsal and small ventrals be-
hind the pectorals. The mouth is very small, and cleft obliquely ; the
intestine is without caeca, and is doubled three or four times, and the nata-
tory bladder is considerable. In

Centriscus, properly so called,

The first spine of the anterior dorsal, which is placed very far back, is
long and stout, and supported by an apparatus connected with the head
and shoulder. They are covered with small scales, and have, besides,
some broad and dentated plates on the apparatus just mentioned.

C. scolopax,~L., Bl. 123 J. (The Sea-Snipe). Avery common
species in the Mediterranean, but a few inches long, and of a silvery
colour. In the

Amphisile, Klein.,

The Amphisiles, the back is mailed with broad scaly pieces, of which the
anterior spine of the first dorsal seems to be a continuation.

Some of them even have other scaly pieces on the flanks, and the spine
in question placed so far behind that it thrusts the second dorsal and anal
towards the lower part of the tail. Such is the Centriscus scutatus, L.,
Bl. 123, 2, The Shielded Sea-Snipe.

Others are intermediate between this disposition and that of a common
Centriscus. Their cuirass covers but the half of the back, — Centriscus
velitaris, Pall., Spic. VIII, iv, 8. Both these species are from the In-
dian Ocean.

The second division of ordinary Fishes, or that of the Malacopterygians,
contains three orders, characterized by the position of the ventrals, or by
their absence. The second order of Fishes is that of

ORDER II,

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS,

That is to say, Fishes in which the ventrals are suspended to the under
part of the abdomen and behind the pectorals, without being attached to
the bones of the shoulder. It is the most numerous of the three, and
comprehends most of the fresh-water fishes. We subdivide it into five
families.

* Fistuluria ckinensis, Bl. 388.

f Centriscus, from the Greek kentao, to sting.

X It is also the Silurus curtmtus, Forsk., the Macioramphose, Lac.

170 FISHES.

FAMILY I.

CYPRINID.E.

The first family, the Cyprinidae, is recognized by the slightly-cleft
mouth, the weak jaws, generally without teeth, and whose border is formed
by the intermaxillaries ; by the pharyngeals, which are supplied with
strong teeth, and which compensate for the trifling armature of the jaws,
and by the small number of the branchial rays. Their body is scaly, and
they have no adipose dorsal, such as we shall find in the Siluri and in the
Salmons. Their stomach has no cul-de-sac, neither are there any caecal
appendages to their pylorus. Of all fishes they are the least carnivorous.

Cyprinus, Lin.

These form a very numerous and natural genus, easily distinguished by
their small mouth, their jaws without any teeth, and the three flat rays of
the branchiae. Their tongue is smooth ; the palate provided with a thick,
soft, and singularly irritable substance, commonly termed a " carp's
tongue." The pharynx presents a powerful instrument of mastication,
consisting of stout teeth attached to the inferior pharyngeal bones, which
are so arranged as to be able to squeeze alimentary matters between them,
and of a stony disk set in a wide cavity under a process of the sphenoid.
These fishes have but one dorsal, and their body is covered with scales,
which most commonly are very large ; they live in fresh water, and are
perhaps the least carnivorous of the whole class, feeding chiefly on seeds,
grass, and even mud. The stomach is continuous with a short intestine,
which has no caecum, and their natatory bladder is divided into two by a
strangulation.

We divide them into subgenera as follows : —

Cyprinus, Cuv.

Carps, properly so called, have a long dorsal, in which, as well as in
the anal, the second ray is formed by a spine more or less stout.
Some of them have cirri at the angles of the upper jaw. Such is

Cyp. carpio, L., Bl. 16. (The Common Carp). Olive-green;
yellowish beneath ; dorsal and anal spines strong and dentated ; cirri
short; pharyngeal teeth flat, with a striated crown. Originally from
central Europe, it now inhabits the ponds of France, where it attains
a length of four feet. It is easily bred in fish-ponds, and is gene-
rally esteemed*.

* The Cyprini Anne-Caroline, Lacep. V, xviii, 1, rouge-brun, Id., lb. XVI, I,
mordore, lb. 2, vert-violet, lb. 3, known merely from Chinese paintings, closely ap-
proach the Carp. The Chinese, who take much delight in breeding these fishes,
obtain many varieties, all very different, the figures of which are seen in their draw-
ings: it would not be safe, however, to consider them as species upon these docu-
ments only.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 171

Monstrous individuals of this species are sometimes taken with a
very gibbous front and short snout.

A race with large scales is bred, in certain individuals of which
the skin is naked in spots, or even entirely : it is called the Reine
des Carpes, Carpe a miroir, Carpe a cuir, &c, — Cyprinus rex cy-
prinorum, Bl. 17.

In others the cirri are deficient. Such, in Europe, are

Cyp. carassius, L., Bl. XI. (The Carreau or Carassin). The
body elevated; lateral line straight; head small; caudal truncated.
Common in the north of Europe.

Cyp. gibelio, Gm., Bl. 12. (The Gibele). The body somewhat
less elevated; lateral line arcuated below; caudal crescent-shaped.
Common in the environs of Paris. The spines of these two species
are weak, and it is with difficulty that any dentations are to be per-
ceived in them.

Such also is the species which is so highly valued in France, where it
has been excessively multiplied, on account of the splendour and variety
of its colours.

Cyp. auratus, L., Bl. 93. (The Golden Carp, or the Dorade of
China). Dorsal and anal spines dentated as in the common Carp.
This fish is at first blackish, and by degrees assumes that splendid
golden red which characterizes it; some, however, are of a silver
colour, and others again are marked by various shades of these three
colours. Individuals are found without a dorsal, others have a very
small one ; the caudal of a third is very large, and is divided into
three or four lobes: the eyes of a fourth are excessively distended;
all these accidental changes, which are the result of domestication,
may be variously combined*.

To this group also belongs the smallest of the European Carps,

Cypr. amarus, Bl. VIII, 3 ; La Bouviere, or Peteuse. An inch
long; greenish above; of a fine pale yellow beneath; in the spawn-
ing season, in April, it has a steel blue line on each side of the
tail; the second dorsal ray forms a tolerably rigid spine.

Barbus, Cuv.

The Barbels have the dorsal and anal short; the second or third ray of
the dorsal formed by a stout spine; four cirri, two on the end of the upper
jaw and two at its angles.

B. vulgaris; Cyprinus barbus, L., Bl. 18. (The common Bar-
bel). Known by its oblong head; common in clear streams and
fish-ponds, where it is sometimes found ten feet in length. Italy
has some neighbouring species, whose spine is weaker, and which

* Such are the Cypr. macrophtahnus, Bl. 410, or the gros yeux, Lacep. V, xviii, 2,
the C. quatre lobes, Lacep., lb. 3, and the varieties of the Gold-fish, Bl. 93, 94, &c.
See Collection des Dorades de la Chine, Sauvigny et Martinet. Add, Cypr. devarid.,
Buch., pi. vi, f. 94;— C. calla, Id., pi. xiii, f. 81.

172 FISHES.

still are distinguished from the Gudgeons by their four cirri — B. ca-
ninus, Bonnelli ; B. plebeius, Val. ; B. eques, Id.*

Gobio, Cuv.

The Gudgeons have both the dorsal and the anal short; both are with-
out spines or cirri.

We have a species dotted with brown, which, notwithstanding its
smallness, is highly esteemed. They live in shoals in the rivers of
France; they seldom exceed each eight inches in length j.

Tinca, Cuv.

The Tenches combine, with all the characters of the Gudgeons, the pe-
culiarity of having very small scales; their cirri also are very small.

There is one of these fishes, Cyp. tinea, L., Bl. 14, (The Tench),
short and thick, of a yellowish-brown, found in France, which is
only eatable when taken in certain streams, and is sometimes of a
line golden colour — Cypr. tinea auratus, Bl. 25. It prefers stag-
nant waters.

Cirrhinus, Cuv.

The Cirrhines have the dorsal larger than that of a Gudgeon; the cirri
on the middle of the upper lip J.

Abramis, Cuv.

The Breams have neither spines nor cirri; their dorsal is short and

placed behind the ventrals ; a long anal. Two species are found in France.

A. vulgaris; C. brama, L., Bl. 13. (The common Bream). The

largest species of this subdivision : there are twenty-nine rays in the

anal, and all the fins are obscure. It is a good fish, and is very

abundant.

C. blica; C. latus, 6m., Bl. 10; The Little Bream; La Borde-
liere, or Hazelin; have reddish pectorals and ventrals; twenty-four

* Add the Barbels of the Caspian Sea: Cyp. mursa, Guldenstedt, Nov. Coniin.
Petrop. XVII, pi. xviii, f. 3, 5;— C. bulatmai, Pall., and the Barbel of the Nile; Cyp.
binny, Forsk. 71; Sonnini, pl.xxvii, f. 3, or Cyp. lepidotus, Geoff'. Eg. Poiss. du Nil.,
pi. x, f. 2.

N. B. Bruce, after giving the history of the true Binny, applies to it, through a
mistake, the figure and description of a Polynemus, which he must have taken in the
Red Sea: hence the ideal species, Polynemus niloticus, Shaw.

Barbels are also found in India: such are Cypr. calbasu, Buch., Fishes of the
Ganges, pi. 11, f. 33;— C. cocsa, Id., pi. iii, f. 77;— C. Daniconius, Id. XV, 89;— C.
kttnama, Russ. 204;— C. morula, Buch. XVIII, 91;— C.gomus, lb. IV, 82;— C. Rohita,
lb. XXXVI, 85, and several others to be described in our Icthyology; they are also
found in America.

I Add, Cyp. capoeta, Guldenst, Nov. Com. Petrop. XVII, pi. xviii, f. 12; — C. cur-
muca, Buch. Trav. to the Mysore, III, pi. xxx; — C. bendelisis, Id., lb., pi. xxxii.

+ Cyp. cirrhosus, Bl. 411; — C. mr/galu, Buch., pi. vi, f. 79; — C. nandina, Id. VIII,
84?

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 173

rays in the anal; is not much esteemed, being chiefly used as food
for other fishes in ponds*.

Labeo, Cuv.

The Labeons have the dorsal long, as in the Carps properly so called,
but both the spines and cirri are wanting; remarkably thick, fleshy lips,
frequently crenated. They are all foreign to Europe -f-.

Catastomus, Lesueur.

The Catastomes have the same thick, pendent and fringed, or crenated
lips, as in Labeo ; but the dorsal is short, like that of a Leuciscus, and is
opposite to and above the ventrals. From the rivers of North America J.

Leuciscus, Klein.

The Abies, commonly called White Fishes, have the dorsal and anal
short; neither spines nor cirri; nothing particular about the lips. This
subdivision is rich in species, but they are not much esteemed. They
are known in different parts of France by the various and rather indistinct
appellation of Meunier, Chevanne, Gardon, &c. §

We distinguish them according to the position of their dorsal, a charac-
ter, however, which is not always sufficiently clear. In some the dorsal
is opposite to the ventrals. Of this group we find in France,

L. dobula; Cyp. dobula, L., Bl. 5; Le Meunier. The head
broad, and snout round ; pectorals and ventrals red.

L. idus; C. idus; Le Gardon, Bl. 6, and better, Meidinger,. 30.
About the same colours; the head narrower, back higher, and snout
more convex.

L. rutilus; Cyp. rutilus, L. ; La Rosse, Bl. 2. (The Roach).
Body compressed, silvery ; red fins.

L. vulgaris; Cyp. leuciscus; La J andoise, Bl. 97, f. 1. (The
Dace). Body straight; fins pale; snout slightly prominent. The

L.nasus; Cyp. nasus, L. ; Le Nez. (The Nase). Is taken in the
Rhine; its snout is more salient and obtuse than that of the Leu-
ciscus II.

* Add three fishes which ascend the tributaries of the Baltic: the C. ballerus, Bl.
9, the C vnnba, L., Bl. 4, and the C. Bttggenhagii, Bl. 95; and of foreign species, ft
cot is, Buch., pi. xxxix, f. 93.

f C niloticus, Geoff. Poiss. du Nil, pi. ix, f. 2; — C. fimhriatus, Bl. 409, to which
must be added the Cutostomus cyprinus, Lesueur.

X M. Lesueur describes seventeen species, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. of Philad. 1817,
vol. I, p. 88 et seq. and figures nine of them; the first, however, Cut. cyprinus, must
be abstracted, as it is rather a Labeo. Add, Cypr. teres, Mitch, op. cit. I, vi, 11, and
the Cyprin sucet, Lacep. V, xv, 2.

§ Bloch and his successors have not adhered to the customary application of these
French names, which they have distributed almost at random.

|| Add, C. grislagine; — C. jeses, and of foreign species, ft pala, Cuv., Russ. 207; —
C. tolo, Cuv.,"" Russ. 208; — ft boga, Buch. Pise. Gang., pi. xxviii, f. 80;— C. mold, lb.

174 FISHES.

In others, the dorsal is placed opposite the interval between the ven-
trals and the anal. Of this group are found in France,

L. erythrophtalmus ; Le Rotengle ; Bl. 1. (The Rud). Fins
red as in the Rutilus; the body thicker and more elevated.

L. alburnus; Cyp. alburnus, L. ; L'Ablette, Bl. 8, f. 4. (The
Bleak). Body narrow, silvery, brilliant; fins pale; front straight;
the lower jaw somewhat longer; very abundant throughout Europe.
It is one of those fishes from which nacre is obtained for the manu-
facture of false pearls.

L. bipunctatus; Cyp. bipunctatus, L. ; Bl. 8, f. 1. {Le Shirlin,
or the Seine Smelts). Very similar to the Bleak; two black points
on each scale of the lateral line.

L. phoxinus; Cyp. phoxinus, L.; Bl. 8, f. 5; Le Veron. (The
Minnow). Spotted with blackish; the smallest of the French spe-
cies.

L. orphus ; C. orphus; Bl. 95; L'Orfe, A fine red-lead red;
from the rivers of Germany and Holland*.
There are some again, where it is opposite to the commencement of the
anal — the Chelae of Buchanan; in several of these the body is com-
pressed almost as in certain Clupos. Such is

L. cultratus ; Cyp. cultratus, L. ; Bl. 37. (The Razor). Also
remarkable for its lower jaw, which ascends in front of the upper
one, for its large falciform pectorals, &c."j-

Species with cirri are found in this group J. We may separate from
all other Cyprini, the

GoNORHYNCHUS, GrOUOV.,

Gonorhinques, in which the head and body are elongated, as well as the
opercula, and even the membrane of the gills, with small scales; the
snout projects before a small mouth, which is without teeth and cirri;
there are three rays in the branchiae, and a small dorsal is inserted above
the ventrals.

G. vulgaris; Cyp. gonorhynchus, Gm., Gronov. Zooph. pi. x, f.
24. The only species known is found at the Cape of Good Hope||.

XIX, f. 86; — C. sopkore, lb. XXXVIII, f. 92;— C. arixa, Id. Trav. in the Mysore,
III, xxxi.

The difficulty of recognizing the figures given by authors of species so similar, is
increased from the circumstance, that many species are found in the rivers of Europe
which have never been figured.

* Add, the C. aspia.i, BL, and of species foreign to Europe; Cyp. basbora, Buch.,
Pise. Gang. II, f. 90; — C. mnrar, lb. XXXI, f. 75, and a vast number from the
rivers of all parts of the globe, several of which have already been indicated by M.
Mitchil and Buchanan; some others will be described in our Icthyology. M. Bueha-
nan alone found eighty Cyprini in India. We have only cited here the two he has
figured.

f Add, Cyp. clupeoides, Bl. 408, 2;— C. bacaiia, Buch. VIII, 76.

% Cypr. dantica, Id. XVI, 88.

|| Badly copied, Schn. 78.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 175

Cobitis*, Lin.

The Loaches have the head small ; body elongated, invested with small
scales and covered with mucus ; ventrals very far back, and above them a
single small dorsal; the mouth at the extremity of the snout, but slightly
cleft, without teeth, but encircled with lips fitted for sucking, and with
cirri ; but three rays in the branchiae, the apertures of which are small ;
the inferior pharyngeal bones strongly dentated, there is no caecum in their
intestine; and their very small natatory bladder is enclosed in a bony
bilobate case, which adheres to the third and fourth vertebra? -)-. Three spe-
cies inhabit the rivers of France.

C. barbatula, L., Bl. 31, 3. (The Common or Bearded Loach).
A small fish four or five inches iu length, clouded and dotted with
brown on a yellowish ground, with six cirri ; common in brooks, and
a capital fish for the table.

C.fossilis, L.; Misgurn, Lac.j; Bl. 31, 1. (The Great Loach).
Sometimes a foot long, with longitudinal brown and yellow rays, and
ten cirri. It lives in the mud of marshes, even long after they have
been dried up or covered with ice. In stormy weather it rises to the
surface of the water, which its restlessness keeps constantly agitated;
when it is cold it descends more deeply into the mud. It is con-
stantly inhaling atmospheric air, which, according to the interesting
observation of M. Ehrman, after having been converted into carbonic
acid, is discharged per anum. The flesh is soft and smells of mud§.
C. tcenia, L. xii; Bl. 31, 2. (The Spiny Loach). Six cirri; the
body compressed, orange-coloured, and marked with a series of black
spots; distinguished from the two others by a forked and moveable
spine, formed before the eye by the suborbital. It is the smallest of
the three, and is found in rivers, among stones, &c. ; it is not much
esteemed ||.

Anableps^", Bl.

The Anableps, for a long time and improperly combined with the
Loaches, have very peculiar characters: in the first place, their"eyes, which
are exceedingly prominent beneath an arch formed on each side by the
frontal bone, have the cornea and iris divided into two parts by transverse
bands, so that these fishes have two pupils, and each appears to be double,
although they have but one crystalline lens, one vitreous humour, and one
retina** — an arrangement of which no other example is to be found in the

* Kobitis, the Greek name of some small undetermined fish.

f See Schneider, Syn. Pise. Arted. 5 and 337.

J I do not separate the Misgurns from the Cobites; there is no difference what-
ever in their organization, and the number of jaw teeth is not greater in the former
than in the latter; I have vainly sought for those described by Bloch.

§ Add, the three species of Cobitis with unarmed cheeks described by Buchanan,
Pise. Gang. p. 357—359.

|| Add, Cob. geta, Buch. XI, 96, and the other seven species with armed checks tic-
scribed by that Icthyologist, op. cit. p. 350 — 356.

H From the Greek anab/epo, to raise the eyes, a name given by Artedi.

** See Lacep. Mem. del'Institut, torn. II, p. 372. ■

176 FISHES,

■whole series of vertebrated animals. In the next place, the organs of
generation, and the bladder in the male, have their excretory duct in the
anterior edge of the anal fin, which is large, long, and covered with scales;
its extremity is perforated, and, no doubt, is subservient to copulation.
The female is viviparous, and the young are considerably advanced in
growth at the moment of their birth.

The body of these fishes is cylindrical, covered with stout scales, it has
five rays in the branchiae, the head flattened, the snout truncated, and the
mouth transversely cleft at its extremity; both jaws are armed with small
and crowded teeth; the intermaxillaries have no pedicle, and are suspend-
ed under the nasal bones which form the anterior edge of the snout; the
greater part of the pectorals is scaly, and there is a small dorsal on the
tail, and farther backwards than the anal. The pharyngeal bones are
large, and furnished with very small globular teeth; the natatory bladder
is very large, and their intestine ample, but without caeca.

But. a single species is known; the Anableps tetrophtalmus, Bl.
361 ; Cobitis anableps, L. ; it inhabits the rivers of Guiana.

Pcecilia, Schn.,

Have the tw r o jaws horizontally flattened, protractile, slightly cleft, and
furnished with a row of extremely small and very fine teeth ; top of the
head flat; tiie opercula large; five rays in the branchiae; the body but
little elongated, the ventrals not far back, and the dorsal above the anal.
Small viviparous fishes from the rivers of America*. The

Lebias, Cuv.

Resemble the Pcecilia, except that their teeth are dentated.

A species is found in Sardinia, the Pcecilia calaritana, Bonnellij-,
a very small fish marked on the flanks with little black streaks.

Funduli's, Lace p.

The Fundules are allied in many particulars to the Pcecilia; but their
teeth are small and crowded, and those of the anterior row hooked;
tolerably stout conical ones are found in the pharynx; there are but four
rays in the branchiae;};. The

Molinlsja, Lesueur,

Are distinguished by the position of their anal between the ventrals and

* Pcecilia Schneideri, Val., or P. vivipara, Schn. 86, 2; — P. multilineata, Lesueur,
Journ. Ac. Nat. Sc. of Philad. 1821, pi. 1; — P. unhnacula, Val. App. Humb. Zool.
Obs. 1 1, pi. li, f. 2;— P. surinamemis, Id. lb. f. 1.

f Add, Lebias ellipso'idea, Lesueur, op eit. 1821, pi. ii, f. 1 and 3; — Lib. rbmn-
bo'idalis, Val. App. Humb. Znol. Obs. II, pi. li, 3; — Leb./asciata, Id. lb. 4.

X Fund, ctenicolus, Val., or Cobitis hetcroclita, Lin., or Pa-cilia canicola, Schn.;
Mudfish of Schoepf. ; — Fund, fasciatus, Val. loc. cit. JL I II, 1, or Pcecilia fasciata,
Schn., or Esox pisciculus, Mitch., of which his Esox zonatus, or Jli/drargyre steam-
pine, Lacep. V, 319, is the young, but the fig. V. 3, is another species; — Fund, brasi-
liensis, Val. loc. cit. LI I, 2.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 177

beneath the origin of the dorsal, which is very large. The teeth are simi-
lar to those of a Fondule, and there are only four or five rays in the
branchiae*.

Cyprinodons, Lacep.,

Have slender, small, and crowded teeth; six rays in the branchiae; other-
wise similar to the three preceding genera.

There are some in the lakes of Austria, particularly in subterra-
neous streams, Cypr. umbra, Cuv. ; Umbra, Cramer; it is of a red-
dish brown, with some brown spots +.

The second family of the Abdominal Malacopterygians is that of

FAMILY II.

ESOCES,

Or the Pikes, which are also destitute of the adipose fin. The edge of
the upper jaw is formed by the intermaxillary, or at least, when it is not
quite so formed, the maxillary is destitute of teeth, and concealed in the
thickness of the lips. They are voracious; many of them ascend rivers,
and their intestine is short and without caeca; they all have a natatory
bladder. With the exception of the Microstomas, all those that are
known have the dorsal opposite to the anal. Linnaeus united them in the
genus

Esox, Lin.,
Pikes, which we divide as follows :

Esox, Cuv.

The Pikes, properly so called, have small intermaxillaries furnished
with little pointed teeth in the middle of the upper jaw, of which they
form the two-thirds, but the jaws which occupy their sides have no teeth.
The vomer, palatines, tongue, pharyngeals, and rays of the branchiae,
are bristled with teeth like a card; a series of long pointed teeth on
the sides of the lower jaw. The snout is oblong, obtuse, broad, and de-
pressed; but one dorsal opposite the anal; the large and plaited stomach
is continuous, with an intestine very thin, without caeca, and twice flexed;
a very large natatory bladder.

E. lucius, L., Bl. 32. (The Common Pike). Well known as
one of the most voracious and destructive of all fishes, but whose
flesh is pleasant and of easy digestion. This species, which inha-
bits Europe, is found also in the fresh waters of North America,

* Molinesia latipinna, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1821, III, 1.

t Add, Cyprinodon flavulus, Val. ]oc. cit. LI II, 3, which is the Esox flavulus,
Mitch, pi. iv, 8, or the Cobitis maialis, Schn. ; — C. ovinus, or Esoxovinus, Mitch., lb.;
— C. variegalus, Lacep. V, xv, 1.

VOL. II. N

17S FISHES.

where two other species are also to be met with ; the flanks of the
one, Esox reticularis, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad., are marked
with brownish lines, sometimes resembling net-work; the other,
Esox Estor, Id. lb. I, 413, is sprinkled with round blackish spots.

Galaxias, Cuv.

The Galaxies have no apparent scales on the body; the mouth is
slightly cleft; moderate and pointed teeth in the palatines and two jaws;
nearly the whole edge of the upper one being formed by the intermaxil-
lary; a few strong, hooked teeth on the tongue. The sides of the head
present some pores, and the dorsal is opposite to the anal as in a true
Pike, the intestines of which theirs also resemble*.

* Alepocephalus, Risso,

Possess the same general form, but the head only is deprived of scales,
the body being covered with broad ones; their mouth is small, and the
teeth extremely delicate and crowded ; very large eyes, and eight branchial
rays.

Al. rostratus, Risso, 2nd ed. f. 27, and Mem. Acad. Turin,

XXV, pi. x, f. 24. The only species known; it is taken in the

depths of the Mediterranean.

♦ Microstoma, Cuv.,

Have a very short snout; the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper one,
and furnished, as well as the small intermaxillaries, with very minute
teeth ; three broad and flat rays in the branchiae : the eye large, the body
elongated, and the lateral line covered with a row of stout scales; a single
dorsal a short distance behind the ventrals; intestines like those of a
Pike.

But a single species is known, the Serge microstome, Risso, p.
356. It inhabits the Mediterranean.

• Stomias, Cuv.,

Have the snout extremely short, and the mouth cleft almost to the gills;
the opercula reduced to little membranous laminae, and the maxillaries
fixed to the cheek. The intermaxillary, palatine, and mandibulary bones
armed with a few long and hooked teeth; similar ones on the tongue.
The body is elongated; the ventrals quite far back, and the dorsal oppo-
site to the anal on the posterior extremity of the body.

Two species of these singular fishes were discovered by Risso in
the Mediterranean: they are black, and ornamented along the belly
with several rows of silvery points. One of them, Esox boa, Risso,
1st ed. pi. x, f. 34, and 2nd ed. f. 40, has no cirri; the other, Sto-
mias barbatus, is furnished with very long and thick ones attached to
the symphysis of the lower jaw.

* Esox truttaceus, Cuv. ; — Esox alepidotus, Forst.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYG1ANS. 179

• Chauliodus, Schn.

These fishes, as well as can be ascertained from a figure, Catesb. Supp.
pi. ix, and Schn. pi. 85, are nearly allied to Stomias in their head and
jaws. Two teeth in each jaw cross the opposite one when the mouth is
shut. The dorsal corresponds to the interval between the pectorals and
ventrals, which are not placed so far back as those of a Stomias ; the first
ray of this dorsal is extended into a filament.

C. Sloani, Schn. pi. 85 ; Esox stomias, Sh. V, part I, pi. iii ; is
the only species known, and has never been taken except at Gibral-
tar. It is fifteen or eighteen inches in length, and of a deep green
colour*.

Salanx-j-, Cuv.

The species of this genus have a depressed head ; opercula folding be-
neath; four fiat rays in the branchiae; jaws short and pointed, each
being provided with a range of hooked teeth, and the upper one almost
entirely formed by the intermaxillaries, which are without pedicles; the
lower jaw slightly elongated from the symphysis by a little appendage
furnished with teeth; the palate and bottom of the mouth entirely smooth,
as there is not even a lingual projection J.

Belone, Cuv.

The Orphies have the whole edge of the upper jaw, which, as well as
the lower one, is extended into a long snout, formed by the intermaxilla-
ries, — both furnished with small teeth, no others in the mouth, and those
of the pharynx are as if paved. The body is elongated and covered with
scales, which are not very apparent — one longitudinal carinated range near
the lower edge excepted. The bones are very remarkable for their co-
lour, which is a beautiful green §. The intestines differ but little from
those of a Pike.

B. vulgaris; Esox belone, L. ; Bl. 33. (The Gar Fish). Two
feet long ; green above, white beneath ; found on the coast of
France, where its flesh is much esteemed, notwithstanding the co-
lour of the bones. Neighbouring species inhabit all seas. The bite
of one of them, which is said to attain a length of eight feet, is con-
sidered dangerous || .

* The Stomias Schneideri, Risso, Ed. II, f. 37, appears to me to be of another
genus, and even of another order.

t Salanx, the Greek name of an unknown fish.

% There is but one species, a new one.

§ This colour is inherent in the bone, and does not arise either from cooking or
the spinal marrow, as was believed by Bloch, ed. Schn. p. 391.

|| The Brocket de Bantam, Ren. part II, fol. 14, No. 65; — the Belone crocodila,
Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. I. 129, probably the same as the Wahla kuddera,
Russ. 175, and as the variety of the Belone, Lacep. VII, pi. v, f. 1.

Add, Belone caudirnacula, Cuv., kuddera, A, Russ. 176; — Belone cancila, Ham.
Buchan. XXVII, 70; — B. argalus, Lesueur, loc. cit. p. 125; — B. truncata, Id. p.
126; — B. caribcea, Id. 127, which is perhaps the timu-cu of Marcgr. 168, and other
species to be described in our Icthyology.

N 2

ISO FISHES.

Scomcresox, Lacep. — Saiuis, Rafin.,

Have the structure of the snout similar to that of a Belone; very nearly
the same port and same scales, with the carinated range along the belly ;
but the last rays of the dorsal and anal are detached, forming spurious fins
as in the Mackerel.

One of them is taken in the Mediterranean, the Scombresocc

camjecrien, Lac. V, vi, 3; Esox saurus, Bl. Sclin. pi. 78, 2; Senis

nians, Rafin., Nouv. Gen. IX, 1 *.

Hemi-Rampiius, Cuv.

The Half-Beaks have the edge of the upper jaw, which, as well as that
of the lower one, is furnished with small teeth, formed by the intermaxil-
laries; but the upper jaw is very short, and the symphysis of the lower
one is extended into a long point or half-beak without teeth; as to their
port, fins, and viscera, they resemble the Belone; scales large and round,
and a carinated range of them along the belly.

Several species are found in the seas of hot climates in both he-
mispheres; their flesh, although oily, is agreeable to the palate \.

ExocetusJj Lin.

The Flying-Fishes are instantly recognized among the Abdominales by
the excessive size of their pectorals, which are sufficiently large to sup-
port them in the air for a few moments. Their head and body are scaly,
and a longitudinal range of carinated scales forms a salient line on the
lower part of each flank, as in the Half-Beaks, &c.§ The head is flatten-
ed above and on the sides; the dorsal placed above the anal; their eyes
are large, the intermaxillaries without pedicles, and constituting by them-
selves the whole edge of the upper jaw; their two jaws are furnished with
small pointed teeth, and their pharyngeals with teeth as if paved.

* Add, Scomber-esox eqtiirostris, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Pliilad. I, 132; — Sc.scutel-
latus, Id. lb.

f Species from India: Hem. longirostris, Cuv., or kuddera, C, Russ. 178; — H. bre-
virostris, or kuddera, B, Russ. 177, Willoughb. App. pi. vii, f. 4; — H. marginatus,
Cuv., Lacep. V, vii, 2; — H. Commersonii, Cuv., Lacep. V, vii, 3, or the Demi-bee de
Baggewaal, Ren. part II, pi. v, No. 21.

American species, H. brasiliensis, Cuv., or Esox brasiliensis, Bl. 391; — H. hepsetus,
or Esox hepsetus, Bl. Schn., and others to be described in our Hist, des Poissons. See
also the article of M. Lesueur, Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. I, 134, et seq.

N. B. M. de Lac. unites the Esox hepsetus, Lin., to the Es. marginatus ; but the
former is a compound of two fishes — one, the Piquitivga of Marcgr. 159, (the moe-
nidia of Brown, Jam. XLV, 3), is an Anchovy; the other, Amcen. Ac. I, p. 321, ap-
pears to me to be indeterminable, but it cannot be a Hemi-ramphus.

X From the Greek Exokoitos, sleeping out, the Greek name of a fish, which, ac-
cording to theantients, came on shore to rest. It was most probably either a Goby or
a Blenny, as imagined by Rondelet and others. It is difficult to conjecture what could
have induced Artedi to associate the fishes here in question with these Blennies.
Linnseus separated them, but without altering the name of exocetus, which does not
belong to them.

§ We must not, like Bloch, confound this carina with the lateral line, which,
though frequently but slightly marked, is in its ordinary place.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTF.RYGIANS. 181

Tliey have ten branchial rays; their natatory bladder is very large, their
intestine straight and without coeca; the superior lobe of the caudal is the
shortest. They do not fly far: raising themselves to avoid the voracious
fishes, they soon fall down again, their wings merely acting as parachutes;
birds pursue them through the air, as fishes do through the water. They
are found in all the seas of hot and temperate climates.

E.exiliens, Bl. 397. (The Mediterranean Flying Fish). Common
in the Mediterranean, and easily recognized by the length of its ven-
trals, placed posterior to the middle of the body ; the fin's of the young
are marked with black bands*.

E. volitans, Bl. 398. (The common Flying Fish). Common in
the Atlantic Ocean, and has small ventrals placed anterior to the
middle of the body-j-.

The American seas produce species with cirri, which are sometimes
simple %, sometimes double, and even ramous§.

Next to the family of the Pikes we place a genus of fishes, which,
though differing but little from the former, has longer intestines and two
ca^ca. It will most probably give rise to a particular family. It is that of

Mormyrus||, Lin.

The Mormyri are fishes with a compressed, oblong, scaly body ; the tail
thin at its base, swelling out near the fin; the head covered by a naked,
thick skin, which envelopes the opercula and branchial rays, leaving no
opening in the latter but a vertical fissure — a circumstance which has led
some naturalists to assert that these fishes have no opercula, although they
are as perfect as in any other, and which has caused the number of their
branchial rays to be reduced to one, although they have five or six. The
opening of the mouth is small, and almost like that of the mammiferous
animal termed the Ant-Eater; its angles are formed by the maxillaries.
Slender teeth, emarginated at the ends, are planted in the intermaxillaries
and lower jaw, and there is a long band of small crowded teeth on the
under surface of the vomer, and on the tongue. The stomach is a round-
ed sac, followed by two caeca, and a long slender intestine almost always

* Such was the little Carolina specimen described by Linnaeus, and, as I believe,
the Exocetus fasciatus, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. II, pi. iv, f. 2; the second Plra-
bebe of Pison, 61, is the volitans.

t I see, by the drawings of Commerson, and by that of White, Bot. Bay, App., p.
266, as well as by the fishes lately received from our travellers, that both these forms
are found in the Pacific Ocean.

N. B. The exiliens and the mesogaster, Bl. 399, closely resemble each other, and
it is not an easy matter to distinguish them by the descriptions and figures of travel-
lers. The eootans of Lin. seems to have been a volitans whose scales had fallen.

X Exocelus comatus, Mitch, op. cit. I, pi. v, f. 1, probably the same as the Ex. ap-
pendiculatus, W. Wood, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. IV, xvii, 2.

§ Exocetus fur cat us, Mitch, op. cit. I, f. 2, which I suspect is the same as Ex. Nut-
talii, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. II, iv, 1.

|| Mormuros, the Greek name of a littoral fish variously coloured, probably the
Sp'irus mormi/rus, L. It was applied by Linnceus, not very happily, to fresh-water
fishes of an uniform hue.

182 FISHES.

enveloped with fat. The bladder is long, ample, and simple. The Mor-
myri are ranked among the best fishes of the Nile.

One portion of them has a cylindrical muzzle and a long dorsal*.

A second has a cylindrical muzzle and a short dorsal -j-.

It is very probable, as observed by M. Geoffroy, that it is in one of
these two subdivisions that the Oxyrynchus, venerated by the Egyptians,
is to be found.

In a third the snout is short and rounded, and the dorsal short J.

In a fourth the forehead forms a gibbous projection in front of the
mouth §.

The third family of the Abdominal Malacopterygians is that of

FAMILY III.

SILURID.E,

The Siluroids, which is distinguished from all others of this order by
the invariable absence of true scales, having merely a naked skin, or large
osseous plates. The intermaxillaries, suspended under the ethmoid, form
the edge of the upper jaw, and the maxillaries are reduced to simple ves-
tiges, or are extended into cirri. The intestinal canal is ample, flexed,
and without ca;ca; the bladder large, and adhering to a peculiar bony ap-
paratus ; the first ray of the dorsal and pectoral is, almost always, a strong
articulated spine, and there is frequently an adipose one behind, as in the
Salmon.

Silurtjs||, Lin.

A numerous genus, easily recognized by its nudity, by the cleft mouth
at the extremity of the snout, and, in the greater number of the subgenera,
by the strong spine which forms the first ray of the pectoral. It is so ar-
ticulated with the bone of the shoulder that the fish can voluntarily either
bring it close to the body, or fix it perpendicularly in an immoveable po-
sition, constituting then a dangerous weapon, wounds from which are con-

* The Morm. d'Hasselquist, Geoff. Poiss. du Nil, pi. vi, f. 2; — M. caschive, Has-
selq. 398, which appears to me to differ from the preceding in several important cha-
racters, judging from the description; — the M. oxyrinque, Geoff., pi. vi, f. 1, which is
the Centriscus niloticus, Schn., pi. 30; — M. commune, Forsk. 74, which does not agree
with any of the preceding by the description.

\ The Morm. de Denderah or anguilloides, L., Geoff., pi. vii, f. 2, confounded with
the Caschive of Hasselq. by Linnaeus, but which is the Herse, Sonnini, Voy. en Eg.,
pi. xxii, f. 1 .

X The Morm. de Sallieyhe, M. labiatus, Geoff., pi. xxii, f. 1 ; — the M. de Belbeys, M.
dor salts, Id., pi. viii, f. 1, which is the Kaschnue, Sonnerat, pi. xxi, f. 3.

§ The Morm. bane or M. cyprino'ides, L., Geoff., pi. viii, f. 2. N. B. The Nile pro-
duces several other unpublished species.

|| Siluriis and Glanis, two antient names, at one time employed as synonymes, and,
at another, as the reverse, given to certain fishes of the Nile, Danube, and Orontes,
and of some rivers of Asia Minor. It is almost certain that they belong to this
genus.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 183

sidered in many places as poisoned; an idea arising from the fact that
lock-jaw frequently ensues.

The head is depressed, the intermaxillaries suspended under the eth-
moid and non-protractile, the maxillaries very short, but each of them
almost always continued into a fleshy cirrus, to which are added others
attached to the lower jaw or even to the nostrils. The covering of their
branchias wants that piece which we call the suboperculum ; the two su-
perior lobes of the stout and cordiform natatory bladder adhere to a pecu-
liar bony apparatus, which is connected with the first vertebra. The sto-
mach is a fleshy cul-de-sac, the intestine long, ample, and without casca*.
These fishes abound in the rivers of hot climates. Seeds are found in
the stomach of various species. In the true Silurus, the

Silurus, Lacep.,

There is only a small fin with very few rays on the fore part of the
back, but the anal is very long, closely approaching that of the tail. In
Silurus, more especially so. called,

Silurus, Arted. and Gronov.,

There is no evident spine in the small dorsal; the teeth in both jaws re-
semble a card, and behind the intermaxillary band of the same is another,
on the vomer. Such is the

S. glanis, L. ; the Saluth of the Swiss ; Wels or Scheid of the
Germans, the Mai of the Swedes, Bl. 34. The largest fresh-water
fish found in Europe, and the only one of this extensive genus that
it possesses; it is smooth, black, greenish, spotted with black above,
with yellowish white beneath : head large, with six cirri ; it some-
times exceeds six feet in length, and weighs three hundred pounds.
It inhabits the rivers of Germany and Hungary, the lake of Haar-
lem, &c, and conceals itself in the mud to watch for prey. The
flesh, which is fat, is employed in some places for the same purposes
as hog's lard-j- . The

Schilbe, Cuv.,

Differ from these true Siluri in a -vertically compressed body, and in a
strong and dentated spine in the dorsal. The small, depressed head, sud-
denly raised neck, and eyes placed very low, give these fishes a singular
appearance.

The species, hitherto known, inhabit the Nile, where their flesh is

less disagreeable than that of the other Siluri, which are found in

the same stream. They have eight cirri J.

* Hasselquist attributes caeca to the Schilbe; I have ascertained, however, that
the contrary is the fact.

f Add, Sil. fossilis, Bl. 370, 2;—Sil. bimaculalus, Id. 364;— Wallagoo, Russel, 160;
— Sil. attu, Schn. 75; — the Sil. chinois, Lacep. V, ii, 1 ;— Sil. asotus, L., Pall., Nov.
Act. Petrop. I, xi, 2.

N. B. Judging from inspection of the dried specimen, the Ompok siluro'ide, Lacep.
V, i, 2, is a Silurus whose folded dorsal escaped the notice of the artist who drew it.

X Sil, mijstus, Hasselq., Geoff., Poiss. d'Eg., pi. ii, f. 3 and 4;— Silurus aurilus,
Geoff., lb., f. 1 and 2.

184 FISHES.

Certain American species, with a round, blunt, small hear], provided
with cirri and almost imperceptible eyes, may constitute a new subgenus*.
The

Mystus, Arted.; and Lin. in his first Editions ;

Or tbat of the Maehoirans j, comprehends Siluri, which, in addition to
their first radiated dorsal, have a second that is adipose ; they are chiefly
the Pimelodes and the Doras of Lacepede.

Pimelodus, Lacep.

The body merely covered with a naked skin; no lateral armatures.
This subgenus is still much too numerous, and its species differ so widely
in conformation, that we have been compelled to divide and subdivide it.
We first distinguish the

Bagrus, Cuv.,

Which have a band of small crowded teeth in each jaw and behind that of
the upper one, a similar band on the vomer; they may be subdivided by
the number of cirri and the form of the head.

Among those which have eight cirri, some have an oblong and de-
pressed head J; while in others it is broad and short §.

Of such as have six cirri, the most remarkable are those with a snout
as depressed and broad as that of a Pike, and more so||.

Some have an oval head, whose shagreen-like bones furnish it with a
kind of helmet^T.

The head of others is round, without the helmet, and merely covered
with a naked skin**.

Some are remarkable for a depressed head, eyes placed very low on its
sides, and for an extremely small adipose fin ; these greatly resemble a
Schilbeff.

Finally, there are others again which have but four cirri J J.

Pimelodus, properly so called,

Have nothing of the band of teeth in the vomer parallel to that in the
upper jaw; but teeth are frequently observed in the palate. The true
Pimelodes, as to the number of filaments and form of the head, present a
greater variety than the Bagri.

* Sil. candira, Spix, X, 1 ; — Sil. ceecutiens, Id., lb. 2.

t Machoiran, a name given to these fishes in the French colonies. Schneider, p.
478, improperly applies it to Balistes.

X Sil. Bayad, Forsk., Porcus Bayad, Geoff., Eg., Poiss., pi. xv, f. 1 and 2; — Sil.
Docmac, Forsk., Geoff., lb. 3, 4;— Pimelodus aor, Buchan. XX, 68?

§ Sil. erythropterus, Bl. 369, 2; — Pimel. carasius, Buchan. XI, 67; — Pirn, gulio, Id.
XXIII, 66;— Pirn, carcio, Id. I, 72;— Pirn, navgra, Id. XI, 63.

|| Sil. lima, Bl. Schn.; — Sil.fasciatus, Bl. 366, and various new species. This divi-
sion forms the genus Sorubim of Spix.

^[ Pimelode aboureal, Geoff, Eg., Poiss.. pi. xiv, f. 3 and 4; — Pimel. bilineatus,
Deddi-Jallnh, Russel, 169.

** The species are new.

tf They constitute the genus Hvpophtai.mus of Spix, of which he has two spe-
cies, the Hyp. edeutatus, IX, and the Hyp. nuckalis, XVII.

XX Sil. bugre, Bl. 365; — Sil. minimis, Witch.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 185

Thus, among those which have but a single band of teeth, some have
the head with the helmet, and an osseous plate or distinct buckler between
the helmet and spine of the dorsal*.

In others the buckler is united and forms a single piece with the hel-
met, which thus extends from the snout to the dorsal -f.

In others, again, the head is oval, and covered with skin only, through
which the bones are not perceptible; of this group some have six cirri £,
and others eight §.

Some, known under the name of Cats, have a naked but very broad
head; one part of these have six cirri |[, and another eighty.

We should also distinguish those with a small flat head, very small
dorsals, and almost imperceptible teeth**.

Then come those Pimelodes, which, besides the band of teeth in the
jaw, have plates of them in the palatines ; these latter teeth may be either
small and crowded, or bent like those of a card, and then the plate on the
nape may be either distinct from the helmet-)")-, or be united with it J J.
These palatine teeth are sometimes round, or like small paving-stones §§.

There are some very singular Pimelodes with teeth, like those of a
card, forming a moveable group under the skin of the cheek ||||.

Others have an elongated snout ^j^|, or one that is even pointed and
nearly edentated***. These latter lead to that much more extraordinary
group, the

Synodontis-J -j-f, Cuv.

Shals, in which the snout is narrow, and the lower jaw supports a bun-
dle of teeth, much flattened laterally, terminating in hooks, and indivi-
dually suspended by a flexible pedicle — a mode of dentation of which there
is no other example known. The rough helmet formed by the cranium
is uninterruptedly continuous with an osseous plate which extends to the
base of the spine of the first dorsal — a spine which is very strong, as are
those of the pectorals. The inferior cirri, and sometimes even the max-
illaries, have lateral barbs. These fishes are found in the Nile, and in
the Senegal: they are not eaten %++•

* Sil. clariax, Bl. XXXV, i, 2; — Pimel.maculatus, Lacep. V, p. 103; — Sil. hemioli-
opterus, BL, Sclin.

f New species.

% SUA-maculatus, Bl. 368, 2; — Pirn, namdia, Cuv., Marcgr. 149; — Pirn. Seb<e,C\iv.,
Seb. Ill, xxix, 5; — Pirn, pirinamp, Spix, 8.

§ Pirn, octo-cirrhus, Cuv., Seb. Ill, xxix, 1.

|| New species.

^f Sil. catus, Lin., Catesb. II, xxiii.

** New species.

ft Pirn, herzbergii, Bl. 367? — the Pirn, doigt-de-ndgre, Lacep.

XX New species.

§§ New species.

Illl Pirn, gemidens, Cuv., a new species.

^1^1 The Karasche (Pirn, biscutalus), Geoff., Eg., Poiss. XIV, i, 2; — Pirn. gagata,
Buchan, XXXIX, 65?

*** Pirn, coniroslris, Cuv.

■f-ff Synodontis, the antient name of an undetermined fish of the Nile.

XIX Sil. clarias, Hasselq., very different from the clarias of Gronovius and of Bloch;
it is the same as the Si/, schal, Schn., Sonnini, Voy.pl. xxi, f. 2, or as the Pimelode
scheilan, Geoff'., Poiss. d'Eg., pi. xiii, f. 3 and 4; — Pimelodus synodontes, Geoff., 11). XII,
f. 5; — Pirn, membranacens, Id.. lb., f. 1 and 2. N. B. Schal is their generic appel-
lation in lower Egypt — Gurgur in upper Egypt.

186 FISHES.

Ageneiosus, Lacep.,

Have all the characters of a Pimelodus, except that there are no true
cirri.

In some the maxillary bone is turned up into a kind of dentated horn,
instead of being continued into a fleshy and flexible cirrus*.

In others it does not project, and remains concealed under the skin ;
the dorsal and pectoral spines are but slightly apparent -j".

Doras, Lacep.

These are Machoirans, that is to say Siluri, with a second dorsal, which
is adipose, and whose lateral line is mailed with a range of bony plates,
each of which is relieved by a spine or salient carina. The dorsal and
pectoral spines are very strong and deeply dentated ; the helmet is rough,
and continues to the dorsal as in Synodontis, and their shoulder bone
forms a point behind.

Some of them merely have the band of small and crowded teeth in the
upper jaw J.

In others the snout is pointed, and the teeth are either wanting or are
hardly visible ; the maxillary cirri are sometimes furnished with lateral
setae §.

Heterobranchus, Geoff.

Have the head provided with a helmet that is rough, flat, and broader
than that of any other Silurus, a circumstance occasioned by two lateral
pieces furnished by the frontals and parietals, which cover the orbits and
temples. The operculum is still smaller in proportion than in the pre-
ceding fishes, and what chiefly distinguishes them from all others is the
peculiarity observed by M. GeofFroy, that, besides the ordinary branchiae,
they have an apparatus ramifying like a tree, adhering to the superior
branch of the third and fourth branchial arch, and which appears to con-
stitute a sort of supernumary gills. Their viscera resemble those of other
Siluri, and their branchial membrane has from eight or nine to thirteen or
fourteen rays. The spine of their pectoral is strong and dentated, but
there is none such in the dorsal; their body is naked and elongated, as
well as their dorsal and anal. There is no spine in the dorsal. The
caudal is distinct. All the species known have eight cirri, and inhabit

* Silurus militaris, Bl. 362.

f Sil. inermis, Bl. 363, Seb. Ill, xxix, 8; — Pimel. silondia, Buchan. VII, 50.

N. B. The Silurus ascita, L., Ad. Fred., pi. xxx, f. 2, is nothing else than a com-
mon Pimelodus quitting the egg, the yolk of which has not yet completely entered
the abdomen. Linnaeus took this yolk for an ovary, and Block has paraphrased his
mistake. It was also, through an error of the press, that Linnaeus is made to place
four cirri on the upper jaw — his figures exhibit them on the lower one.

X Silurus costatus, L., Bl. 376, and Gronov. V, 1, 2, which is also the Cataphractus
americanus, Catesb., Suppl. IX, usually quoted as Sil. cataphractus ; — Sil. carinatus,
Lacep., which appears to me the same as Gronov. Ill, 4 and 5, generally cited also as
the S. cataphractus, and as the Klip-bagre, Marcgr. 174, thus reducing the S. cata-
phractus to nothing. — Doras granulosus, Valenc., App. Ilumb. Zool. Obs. II, 133.

§ Doras niger, Valenc, loc. cit., or Corydoras edentulus, Spix, V ; — Dor. o.ryrhyn-
chus, Val., lb.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 187

the Nile, the Senegal, and some rivers in Asia. Their flesh is indifferent
or bad.

Some of them, the Macropteronotes, Lacep., Clarias, Gronov.,
have but a single radiated dorsal.

One of these, the Sharmutk, or Black-Fish, Silurus anguillaris,
Hasselq. and L., is common in Egypt and in Syria, constituting in
the latter a considerable article of food*.
Others have a radiated dorsal, and a second one that is adipose "K

Plotosus, Lacep.,

Are characterized by a second radiated dorsal, which, as well as the anal,
is very long, both of them uniting at the caudal to form a point as in the
Eel; lips fleshy and pendent; the mouth armed in front with conical
teeth, behind which are globular ones, those of the upper jaw belonging
to the vomer; the body and head enveloped by a thick naked skin; nine
or ten rays in the branchial membrane. The species known are from the
East Indies. They have eight cirri; behind the anus and the fleshy and
conical tubercle common to all the Siluri, is another fleshy and ramified
appendage, whose functions must be very singular.

Some of them have large and dentated dorsal and pectoral spines J.

In others they are almost hidden under the skin§.

Calliciithys, Lin., in his first editions. — Cataphractus||, Lacep.

Have the sides of the body almost entirely mailed in four ranges of scaly
plates, and also a compartment of these plates on the head; but the end
of the snout is naked, as well as the inferior surface of the body ; a single
ray in the anterior edge of the second dorsal; the pectoral spine strong,
but the dorsal feeble or short. The mouth is but slightly cleft, and the
teeth are almost insensible ; four cirri ; eyes small and on the sides of the
head. These fishes can crawl about out of water for some time like the
Eel.

The pectoral spine of some is simply rough ^[; in others it is dentated
as in most of the Siluri**. The

Malapterurus, Lacep.,

Are distinguished from all the true Siluri, by the absence of the radiated
fin on the back, by their having only a small adipose one on the tail, and
by the total deficiency of a spine in the pectorals, whose rays are entirely
soft. The head, as well as the body, is covered with a smooth skin ; the

* Add, Macropt. magur, Buchan. XXVI, the same as the Silurus called anguillaris
by Patr. Russel, 168;— Sil. Batrachus, Bl. 370, 1, which may be the same as the
Macroptironote brun, Lac. V, ii, 2; — the Hexacircine, Id. lb. 3, has only six cirri, but
it rests merely on Chinese drawings.

f The Hale (Heterobranchus bidorsalis), Geoff'. Eg. Poiss. du Nil, pi. xvi, f. 2.

% Platystacus anguillaris, Bl. 373, 1; llenard, I, fol. 3, f. 19.

§ Plotosus ceesius, Buchan. XV, 44.

|| N.B. Bloch, in his genus Cataphractus, includes Doras and Calliciithys.

11 Silurus callichthys, Bl. 377, 1.

** A new species.

188 FISHES.

teeth are small and crowded, and arranged in abroad crescent both above
and below; there are seven rays in the branchiae, and the jaws and vis-
cera resemble those of a Silurus. The only species known is that with six
cirri, with a head smaller than the body, which, in its anterior part, is
swelled out; it is the celebrated fish

M. electricus; — Silurus electricus, L. ; Silure Electrique du Nil
et du Senegal, Geoff., Poiss. d'Eg. pi. xii, f. 1 ; Brouss., Acad, des
Sc. 1782; the Raasch or Thunder oi the Arabs, which, like the
Torpedo and Gymnotus, communicates electric shocks. The seat of
this power seems to be in a particular tissue, situated between the
skin and the muscles, and presenting the appearance of a fatty cellu-
lar tissue abundantly furnished with nerves. From the Nile and the
Senegal.

Platyst.vcus*, Z?/.— Aspredo, L., in his 4th and 6th editions.

These fishes present very singular characters in the flattening of their
head and the widening of the anterior portion of their trunk, which chieliy
results from that of the bones of the shoulder; in the proportional
length of their tail; in their small eyes, placed on the superior surface;
in their intermaxillaries under the ethmoid, directed backwards, and pro-
vided with teeth on the posterior edge only; and finally and principally,
in the fact that they are the only bony fishes known which have no power
of motion whatever in their operculum, a circumstance that is owing to
the pieces which should compose it being soldered to the bone of the
tympanum and to the preoperculum. The branchial aperture consists in
a simple slit in the skin under the external edge of the head; the mem-
brane, which has five rays, adhering everywhere else. The lower jaw is
transverse, and the snout projected beyond it. The first pectoral ray is
more strongly dentated than that of any other Silurus; there is but one
dorsal on the anterior part of the back, the first ray of which is not very
strong; the anal, on the contrary, is very long, and extends under the
whole of the tail, which is long and slender.

But few species are known, and they have six or eight cirri ; it is
somewhat remarkable, that when the latter number prevails, one pair
is attached to the base of those on the maxillaries ; the four of the
lower jaw are disposed in pairs, one behind the other f.

* Aspredo, L., fourth and sixth edit. — Under this name of Pi.atystacus, Bloch
includes Plotosus and Aspredo. Lacepede leaves the latter with the Siluri, but makes
a distinct genus of the former.

N. B. We must separate from the whole of this great genus Silurus: 1st, the
Sil. cornutus, Forsk., p. 66, on which the genus Macroramphose, Lac, is founded; it
is nothing else than Centrisetis scolopasc, L.; 2d, the genus Pogonatus, Commers.
and Lac. The first species is nothing more than the pogoniax, Lac. II, xvi, 2, and
III, p. 138, and consequently of the family of the Sciaenae; the other, Pogonatus
aurtitus, evidently belongs to the genus Umbrina; 3d, the genus Ceutranodon, Lac,
or Silurus imber bis, Houttuyn, Ac. Haarl. XX, 2. 338; it cannot possibly be a Silu-
rus, as it has scales, spines on the opercula, the first dorsal spinous, &c. It is probably
allied to the Perches, though Bloch, Sclm. p. 110, very gratuitously arranges it among
the Sphyraenae.

t Silurus aspredo, L.; Platystacus hevis, Bl., Seb. Ill, xxix, 9 and 10; — Platys.
colylephorus, Bl. 372; — Silurus hexadactylus, Lac V, p. 82. — The I'lutystacus verruco-
sus, Bl. 373, 3, differs from the others in having a shorter anal and tail.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTEE YG1ANS. 189

Some of them are found with globules, which appear to be their eggs,
adhering to the thorax by pedicles.

Loricaria, Lin.,

So called on account of the angular and hard plates in which the head
and body are completely mailed, are otherwise distinguished from the
mailed Siluri, such as the Callichthys and the Doras, by their mouth
being opened under the snout. This mouth is most analogous to that of
a Synodontis; small intermaxillaries suspended under the snout, and
transverse disunited mandibularies support long, slender, and flexible
teeth, terminating in a hook; abroad, circular, membranous veil encir-
cles the opening, and the pharyngeal bones are furnished with numerous
teeth, as if paved. The true opercula are immoveable, as in Aspredo,
but two small, external, moveable plates, appear to supply their place.
There are four rays in the membrane. Strong spines constitute the first
rays of the dorsal, pectorals, and even of the ventrals. They have
neither caeca nor natatory bladder. They may be divided into two sub-
genera.

Hypostomus, Lacep.,

Have a second small dorsal furnished with a single ray, as in Callichthys;
the labial veil is simply papillate, and is provided with a small cirrus on
each side; no plates on the belly; the intestines, spirally convoluted, are
as slender as thread, and twelve or fifteen times longer than the body.
From the rivers of South America*.

Loricaria, Lacep.,

Have only a single dorsal, forward; edges of the labial veil furnished
with several cirri, and occasionally bristled with villosities ; under part of
the abdomen covered with plates ; intestines of a moderate thickness j.

The fourth family of the Abdominal Malacopterygians,

FAMILY IV.

SALMONIDES.

The Salmonides, according to Linnaeus, form only one great genus, very
distinctly characterized by a scaly body, and a first dorsal with soft rays, fol-
lowed by a second one small and adipose, that is to say, formed of skin
filled with fat, and unsupported by rays.

These are fishes with numerous caeca and a natatory bladder; nearly
all of them ascend rivers, and are highly esteemed. They are naturally

* Loricaria pie costomus, L., B. 374; — Hyp. etentaculatum, Spix, IV.

\ Loricaria cataphracta, L., or L. cirrhosa, Bl. Sclin., and setigera, Lacep., Bl.
375, 1, 2; — Loricaria rostrata, Spix, III; — Rinelepis aspera, Id. II; — Acanthicus liys-
trix, Id. I.

190 FISHES.

voracious. The structure and armature of the jaws are singularly vari-
ous. This great genus,

Salmo, Lin.,

Must be subdivided as follows : —

The Salmons, properly so called, or rather the Trouts,

Sal mo, Cuv.,

Have a great portion of the edge of the upper jaw formed by the maxil-
laries ; a range of pointed teeth in the maxillaries, intermaxillaries, pa-
latines and mandibularies, and a double one on the vomer, tongue, and
pharyngeals ; so that of all fishes it is the most completely furnished with
teeth. In the old male, the end of the lower jaw is bent up towards the
palate, where a cavity receives it when the mouth is closed. Every body
is familiar with their forms : their ventrals are opposite to the middle of
the first dorsal, and the adipose to the anal. There are ten branchial
rays, or thereabouts. There is one flexure in the long and narrow sto-
mach, which is followed by very numerous caeca: the natatory bladder ex-
tends from one end of the abdomen to the other, and communicates above
with the oesophagus. The body is usually spotted, and the flesh good.
These fishes ascend rivers to spawn, leaping over cataracts, &c, and are
even found in the brooks and small lakes of the highest mountains.

S. salar, L., Bl. 20. (The Salmon). The largest species of the
genus, with red flesh and irregular brown spots, which soon disap-
pear in fresh water ; the cartilaginous hook formed by the lower jaw
is inconsiderable even in the old male. From all the Arctic seas,
whence it enters the rivers in the spring. The value of this fishery
in all northern countries is well known.

S. hamatus, Cuv. ; Bl. 98 ; Le Becard. A whitish ground, spot-
ted with red and black ; snout of the male narrowed into a point,
and the hook of the lower jaw much more strongly marked than in
the salar. Its teeth are stronger and its flesh red, but leaner, and
not so much esteemed. Taken at the mouth of rivers in Europe.

S. Schiefermulleri, Bl. 133; La Truite de Mer. Less than the
salar, with longer and more slender teeth; flanks sprinkled with
little crescent-shaped spots on a silvery ground: flesh yellow. Num-
bers of this species are sent to Paris during the summer.

S. hucho, L. ; the Hucko of the Danube and its tributaries, Bl.
100, and better, Meidinger, 45. Nearly as large as the salar, dif-
fering but little from the preceding in its spots, but has a more
pointed snout and much stronger teeth.
With respect to the remaining river Trouts, it may be said that they
are found in all the clear streams of Europe, and particularly among the
mountains, of very different colours and sizes, among which several natu-
ralists have thought they could detect various species, while others affirm
that these are mere varieties, resulting from age, nourishment, and espe-
cially from the waters in which they sojourn; this supposition, however,
is, I think, stretched beyond the bounds of probability.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 191

*$*. lemanus, Cuv. The great Trout of the lake of Geneva, which
is also found in some neighbouring ones ; head and back sprinkled
with small round and blackish spots on a whitish ground ; the flesh
white ; individuals are sometimes taken, weighing from forty to fifty
pounds.

S. trutta, L. ; Bl. 21. (The Salmon Trout). Ocellated spots,
or spots shaped like an X, the upper ones sometimes surrounded
with a circle of a lighter hue ; many of these spots on the opercula
and adipose fin; flesh reddish. The finest specimens of this species
are taken from rivulets of clear water, which directly empty them-
selves into the sea, but it is found at all heights.

S.fario, L., Bl. 22. (The Common Trout). Smaller; brown
spots on the back, red ones on the flanks, surrounded by a lighter
coloured circle, but varying infinitely as to the tint of the ground,
which is from a white and a golden yellow to a deep brown; flesh
white ; common in every brook whose waters are clear and rapid.

S. punctatus, Cuv.; S. alpinus, Bl. 104, (The Dotted Alpine
Trout), but not the alpinus of Lin. ; the Carpione of the lakes of
Lombardy ? Dotted with small black and red points ; flesh delicious ;
it is found all round the Alps.

S. marmoratus, Cuv. (The Marbled Trout of the lakes of Lom-
bardy). Irregular, close, brown spots and streaks, so intermixed as
to resemble a kind of marbling, &c. ; from the lakes of Lombardy.
Naturalists agree in separating the

aS*. salvelinus, L. ; Meidinger, 19, under the name of alpinus;
Truite rouge; (the Char of the English). Red spots on the flank;
orange abdomen ; anal and pectorals red, their first ray thick and
white (a).

S. alpinus, L. ; Bl. 99 ; Meidin. 22, under the name of salveli-
nus. Nearly the same colours ; but the first rays of the inferior fins
are not distinguished. This species fills the mountain lakes of Lap-
land, &c, and constitutes an invaluable supply of food to the inha-
bitants of that country during the summer.

There is another small trout found in European rivers, the Samlet
of the English; Saumoneau of the Rhine; Penn. 111. Brit. Zool.,
pi. lix, 1, which many consider a distinct species. The greenish of
the back and the white of the belly form zigzags, in each of which is
a red spot; it is a small, but delicious fish.

S.umbla,L.; Bl. 101; L' Ombre Chevalier. Smaller scales and
finer teeth than in either of the others; the spots more strongly

|ggp° (a) The late Sir Humphrey Davy, who paid great attention to the anatomical
structure of those fishes, which are of greatest interest to the angler, suggested once
the propriety of establishing a new species, which would form a link between S. sal-
verinus and S.fario. The new species is called the Gillaroo, and is found in the lake
of Loch Con, in the north-west of Ireland. He describes its appearance to be nearly
that of the ordinary Trout, except that it has more of the red spots, and also that it
has a yellow or golden-coloured belly and fins, and that it is a broader and thicker
fish. But its great peculiarity is its stomach, which is large and thick, and some-
what indurated, and generally containing small shell fish. — Eng. Ed.

192 FISHES.

marked and frequently wanting; flesh fatter and white, resembling
that of an eel. The Umbla of the lake of Geneva is particularly
celebrated* (a).

Osmerus, Artedi.

The Smelts have two ranges of separated teeth in each palatine, but
only a few in front on the vomer; the general form is that of a trout, but
there are only eight rays in the branchia?. The body is without spots,
and the ventrals correspond with the anterior edge of the first dorsal.
Taken in the ocean and at the mouths of large rivers.

0. eperlanus; Sal eperlanus, L., Bl. 28, 2. (The Smelt). The
only species known ; it is small, and ornamented with the most daz-
zling silvery and light-green tints; an excellent fish for eating.

Mallotus, Cuv.,

With the cleft mouth of the preceding, have only teeth dense as the pile
on velvet, in the jaws, palate and tongue ; eight branchial rays ; the body
elongated and covered with small scales ; the first dorsals and ventrals pos-
terior to the middle; particularly distinguished by large round pectorals,
which almost meet beneath.

But a single species is known, Salmo yrcenlandicus, Bl. 381 ; the
Capelan, Duhamel, Sect. I, pi. xxvi ; Clupea villosa, Gmel. A small
fish employed as a bait in the Cod fisheries. The flank of the male
during the spawning season is marked with a broad band, furnished
with long, narrow, and raised scales, resembling hairs.

THYMALLUsf, Cuv.

Have the structure of the jaw similar to the Trouts : the mouth, however,
is but slightly cleft, and the teeth are extremely fine; first dorsal long and
elevated ; it has larger scales, which also serve as a mark of distinction
from the Trout, which this fish resembles in habits and delicacy of fiesh.

The stomach is a very thick sac ; seven or eight rays in the branchiae.
T. vulgaris; Salmo thymallus, L. ; Bl. 24. (The Grayling).

First dorsal as high as the body, and twice as long as it is high,

* Besides these Salmons and Trouts which are found in Europe, several others
have been described by American and Russian naturalists, but they have not been
sufficiently compared with the former, so that even Pallas expresses doubts with
respect to some of his species. We will endeavour to settle their synonymes in our
Icthyology, but the extent of the details requisite for that purpose prevents us from
attempting it here; we shall also in that work describe several species from North
America, some of which have been pointed out by Mitchill, Lesueur, Rafmesque,
Richardson, &c.

f Artedi comprehended both the Hymalli and Coregoni in his genus Coregonus.

gSgT (a) The Salmon rivers in Great Britain are, — in England, the Derwent, the
Hadder, the Conway, several streams in Devonshire and Wales, rivers in Northum-
berland, the Tyne, Coquet, and Till; in Scotland, the Tweed, Tay, Dee, Don, Spey,
Brora, Ewe, Helmsdale, Laxford; in Ireland, the Erne, Moy, Bann, Bush, Black-
water, Shannon. — Eng. Ed.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 193

spotted with hlack and sometimes with red; brownish, longitudinally
streaked with blackish; an excellent fish for eating* (a).

Coregonus, Cvv.

The Lavarets have the mouth as in the preceding subgenera, and more
feebly armed, as it is frequently edentated; scales still larger; length of
the dorsal less than the height of its anterior portion. Several very si-
milar species are found in Europe ; one of them, however,

C. oxyrhynchus ; Salmo oxyrhynchus, L. ; Bl. 25, under the false
name of Lavaret, the Houting or Hautin of the Belgians, is easily
distinguished by a soft prominence at the end of the snout. From
the North Sea and the Baltic, where it pursues the Herring. It is
also taken in the Scheldt, in the lake of Haarlem, &cf"

C. marcenula; Salmo marcenida, Bl. 28, f. 3; S. alhvla, Ascan.,
pi. xxix. (The Vemme). Strongly characterized by the lower jaw,
which projects beyond the upper one J.

The others have an obtuse snout, as if truncated; it is extremely diffi-
cult, however, to assign to them precise characters. Such are

C. marcena; Salmo marcena, Bl. 27- (The Marene). From the
lakes of Brandebourg; its snout, although obtuse, extends beyond
the mouth.

C Wartmanni ; Salmo Wartmanni, Bl. 105. (The Waurtmaune,
or Lavaret). From the lakes of Bourget, Constance, the Rhine,
&c. The snout is truncated even with the front of the mouth, the
head is shorter in proportion, and the form longer and more slender.

C. fera, Jurine, Mem. de la Soc. Phys. of Geneva, III, part I,
pi. vii. (The Fera). From the lake of Geneva, and some others;
it is higher than the Wartmaune, and has larger fins.

C. hyemalis, Jurine, lb., pi. viii. (The Gravanche). From the
lake of Geneva, where it is found in the winter only ; its head is
thicker, and its fins are larger in proportion than in the fera.

C. palcea, Cuv. (The Black Palsea). From the lake of Neuf-

* Add, Coregonus signifer, Richardson, I, Voy. Capt. Franklin, p. 26; — Cor. thy-
mallo'ides, Id.

f The genus Triptekonotus, Lacep., is founded on a had figure of this Houting
sent to Rondelet (Rondel. 105), to which, by some mistake, three dorsals had heen
given — that genus must consequently he suppressed. The very improper name of
Albula nobilis was transferred to it hy Schoenefield, and Linnaeus and Artedi con-
founded it with the Coregonus, an example followed by Bloch. The Salmo thymallus
latus, Bl. 26, appears to be a variety of it in the spawning season.

X Add, Salmo elupeoides, Pall.

ggf (a) The Grayling is one of the most interesting objects of the pursuit of the
British angler; because, perhaps, it is a rare fish, and has heen said to have been
brought over to this country by the monks in antient times. It has in foreign coun-
tries the name of the " flower of fishes" given to it, according to popular tradition by
St. Ambrose, on account of its agreeable odour. The angler, in order to take the
Grayling, usually employs small flies of the Ephemerae or Phryganeae families: the
imitation of a grasshopper is found likewise to be an irresistible bait. — Eng. Ed.
VOL. II. O

194 FISHES.

chatel; higher than any o£ the preceding species, particularly at the
nape, and deeply coloured.

C.sikus, Cuv.; Ascan., pi. xxx, under the name of Lavaret.
(The Sik) (a). From the rivers of Norway ; the snout is prominent
as in the maraena, but the body is narrower and browner*.

Argentina, Lin.

The Argentines have the mouth small and jaws without teeth, as in
Thymallus, but the mouth is depressed horizontally ; the tongue is armed,
like that of the Trouts, &c, with strong hooked teeth, and there is a
transverse range of small ones before the vomer. There are six rays in
the branchiae, and the intestines differ but slightly from those of the
Trout.

A. sphyrcena, L., Cuv. ; Mem. du Mus. I, xi. The only species
known is from the Mediterranean ; its natatory bladder is extremely
thick, and singularly loaded with that silvery substance (nacre), which
is so remarkable in fish ; it is employed for colouring pearls. The
stomach is remarkable for its black colour -j~.

Artedi and several of his successors have united all the Salmonides,
which have not more than four or five rays in the branchiae in the sub-
genus Chakacinus; but there is a sufficient difference in their figure,
and particularly in their teeth, to warrant a still greater subdivision. They
all, however, have the numerous caeca of the preceding Salmons, with the
bladder of the Cyprinidae, which is divided by a strangulation. The lin-
gual teeth of the Trout are always wanting. We subdivide them as
follows : —

Cu RIM ATA, CUV.,

Which have the whole external form of Thymallus ; small mouth, the first
dorsal above the ventrals, &c. Some of them resemble certain Thymalli in
their teeth, which are only visible with the glass, and merely differ from
them in the number of their branchial rays $.

* Add Saima silus, Ascan. XXIV; — Coregonus albus, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil.
I, p. 35; — Cor. quadrilateralis, Richardson, Franklin's Voy., pi. xxv, f. 2; — Salmo
peled, Pall.

f This fish, "which is most certainly the Argentina of Willoughby, 229, and, con-
sequently, that of Artedi and Linnaeus, always has a second adipose dorsal, as was
observed by Brumiieh, Icht. mass. 79; it should there!' -re have been placed among
the Salmons. The Argent, machnata, Porsk., is the Elops satirus; this is also, most
probably, the case with the Ardent. Carolina of Lin., although Catesby has omitted
the dorsal in the fig. cited, Car. II, xxiv. The Argentina of Gronovius is an An-
chovy, and that of Pennant a Seopelns, — Serpe of Risso. The Argent, glossudonta,
Forsk., is a particular genus, the Butirinus of Commerson.

X Salmo edenturiis, Bl. 380; — C. u>iim<uu!alus, Bl. 381, 3; — S. t alliums, Valen.
App. Humb. Zool.Obs. II, p. 166; — S. carina, Cuv., Marcgr. \b6; — Ciuimate Gilbert,
Quoy et Gaym. Voy. de Freyc. Zool., pi. xlviii, f. 1; — and probably, S. cyprino'ides,
Gronov., Zooph., No. 378. They are the Pacu, Spix, XXXVIII and XXXIX.
His Anodus, XL and XLI, only differs in the mouth, which is rather more cleft.

ggy (a) In England we call this fish the Sheik, or fresh-water Herring; it is
called Vengis in Scotland, and Pollan in Ireland. — Eng. Ed.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 195

Others have a range of teeth in each jaw, which are trenchant, directed
obliquely forwards, the anterior ones longest, and, in a word, comparable
to those of a Balistes*. From the rivers of South America.

Anostomus, Cuv.,

Have the form of a Thymallus, and an upper and lower range of small
teeth ; the lower jaw turned up in front of the upper one, and gibbous,
so that the little mouth resembles a vertical slit on the end of the snout f.

Gasteropelecus, BL — Sekpes, Lacfp.,

Have the mouth directed upwards as in Anostomus; but the belly is com-
pressed, projecting, and trenchant, owing to its being supported by ribs
which terminate in the sternum ; ventrals very small and far back ; first
dorsal over the anal, which is long; conical teeth in the upper jaw, trench-
ant and dentated ones in the other J.

Piabucus, Cuv.,

With the small head and slightly-cleft mouth of the Curimata? have a
compressed body, the ventral carina trenchant but entire, and a very long
anal. The first dorsal is opposite to the commencement of the latter §.
The

Serra-salmus, Lacep.,

Already distinguished by that naturalist, is known by the compressed,
high body, and the trenchant and serrated belly, to which characters must
be. added that of the triangular, trenchant and dentated teeth. The max-
illary, wholly without teeth, passes obliquely over the commissure. There
is frequently a horizontal spine in front of the dorsal.

The species known are all from the rivers of South America. It
is said that they pursue ducks, and even men, while bathing, inflict-
ing severe wounds with their sharp teeth||.

Tetragonopterus, Artedi,

Have the long anal, and trenchant, dentated teeth of the Serra-salmi, and
the maxillary without teeth passing obliquely over the commissure; the
mouth, however, is but slightly cleft, and the abdomen is neither carinated
nor dentated *j|.

* Salmo fasciatus, Bl. 379;— S. Fridericii, Id. 378.

f Salmo anostomus. L., Gronov. VIII, 2,

X Gaslropelecus sternicla, Bl. 97, 3.

§ Salmo ar gen tinus, Bl. 382, 1; Marcgr. 170; — S. bimaculatus, Bl. 16; — S. gibbosus,
Gronov., Mus. I, i. 4; — S.vielanurus, Bl. 381, 2.

|| Salmo rhomboides, Bl. 383; — Serras. pirai/a, Cuv., Mem. Mus. V, pi. xxviii, f. 4;
— Serras. mento, Id., lb., f. 3; — Serras. aureus, Spix, XXIX; — S. nigricans, Id. XXX.

^f Tetragonopterus argenteus, Artcd., App. Seb. Ill, pi. xxjtiv, f. 3, or Coregoiwides
amboinensis, Art., Spec. 44, improperly confouuded with the Salmo bimaculatus; — ■
Chatceus fascial us, Cuv., Mem. Mus. V, pi. xxvi, f. 2; — Serra- salmo chalceus, Spix,
XXXIII, 1.

o-2

106 FISHES.

Ch m.< lis, Cuv.,

Have tin- same form of mouth, and the same trenchant and notched teeth
as in the prec( ding ubgenua, but the body is oblong and neither carinated
in, i dentated; eery small, round teeth in the maxillaries*.

Myi.i;tj;s, Cuv.

These flshei are remarkable for their very singular teeth, which re-
semble short triangular prisms, rounded on the ridge, and excavated on
tin' superior surface of the crown by mastication, so that three salient
poin! are formed there hy the three angles. There are two ranges of
i )i< < in ill in the intermaxillaries of the slightly cleft mouth, and a single
on.- in the lower jaw, with two teeth behind; tin' palate and tongue, how-
ever, are smooth. The maxillaries placed on the commissure have no
teeth.

Borne of them have the elevated figure, the falciform vertical fins, for-
ivardly inclined spine, and even the trenchant and notched abdomen of

tin- Serra-salmi, to which, hut for their teeth, we should certainly unite

iln in. One of them even has a horizontal spine in front of the dorsaly,
Very large om , whose flesh is much esteemed, an- found in America^.
Others have an elongated form, 'lie first dorsal being opposite to the

interval between the ventral:; and the anal. The species known arc only

found in Egypt §.

1 1 n DBOC1 on, ' 'in .,

Have the end of tin- snout formed h\ the intermaxillaries; the maxillaries
commencing neat the eyes, oi before them, and completing the upper jaw.

The tongue and vomer always smooth, hut hoth jaws are furnished with

conical teeth; a large suborbital, thin and naked like the operculum,

COVerS tin- (heck.

Some of them have a compact i ; 1 1 1 ;• < • of small teeth in the maxillaries
and palatines, their fust dorsal corresponding to the interval hetueen tin-

ventials and anal||. They inhabit rivers in the torrid /om-; their flesh
resembles that of the Carp^J.

Others have a double row of teeth in their intermaxillaries and lower

jaw, and a single one in the inaxillai ies ; hut (heir palatines have none.

Their first dorsal is above the ventrals**.

* Chalcetu maorolapldotun, Cuv., Mem. Mus, IV, pi. Kxi,f. I; Ch, opalinut, Id.,
Hi. \ ; pi. x.wi, f. I , Ch. angulatus, 8pix, \\\l\.

| Myleteh rhombviidalia, Cui , Mem, du Mus. IV, pi. ^\ii, f. 3.

j Add in the preceding species, Myl durioentria, lb., I '.'. ■'/. braohypomus, lb.,
I'. I , ,1/. maoroputnus, ll>., pi, icxi, f.3| - M.paoo, llumli. Zool.Obe. II, pi. xlvii, f, '1.

(j The Rati of the Nile, which la the Cyprinm duntex, I.., Mus. A<l. Fred, and ed.
\ il. or the Sultno denU r, Ha selq , and! the s. nlloticua, [Torek., and whioh is thus
twioe Pound in Gmelin and Ilia auooeaaors, li is die Myt. Haaaelquietli, Cuv., Mem.
Mn a IV, pi, icxi, f. '2.

|| It is I'm iln* reason thai M. de Laoepdde plaoed them among the Osmeri,

^| Salmo faloatua, B1.383| S. odoe, Id. ;>sii, Hydrooyon fuloiroatrtt, Cuv., Mem.
Mm \ . p] i'.ii.i'. I; ffyd, hvpsetus, Cuv,, or Hydr. jauollh, Zool. Voj deFreyoin.,
pi, is, i. J,

** A new species from Brazil, ill,- Hydioe, breoidem, (\i\., Mian. Mus. V, nl. tcxvli,
f. l, in Charaoluus amattonicus, Spix, X XXV,

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 197

Others again have only a single range in the maxillaries and lower
jaw, the teeth being alternately very small and very long, the two second
ones below in particular, which, when the mouth is closed, pass through
two holes in the upper jaw. Their lateral line is furnished with larger
scales, and the first dorsal corresponds to the interval between the ventrals
and anal*.

There is a fourth sort, in which the snout is pointed and very salient;
the maxillaries very short, and furnished, together with the lower jaw and
the intermaxillaries, with a single compact range of very small teeth;
their first dorsal corresponds to the interval between the ventrals and anal.
The entire body is covered with strong scales f.

Finally, the only teeth possessed by others are those in the lower jaw
and intermaxillaries; they are but few, strong, and pointed. Their first
dorsal is above the ventrals. But a single species is known, and it in-
habits the Nile J.

ClTHARlNUS, CuV.,

Are recognized by a depressed mouth, transversely cleft in the end of the
snout, whose upper edge is wholly formed by the intermaxillaries, and
where the small and dentated maxillaries only occupy the commissure ;
the tongue and palate are smooth, and the adipose fin is covered with
small scales, as is the greater portion of the caudal. They inhabit the
Nile.

Some of them have very small teeth in the upper jaw only, and an ele-
vated body as in Serra-salmus; the abdomen, however, is neither trenchant
nor indented §.

Others have several compact rows of numerous slender teeth, forked
at the end, in both jaws; their form is more elongated ||.

Saurus, Cuv.,

Have a short snout ; the mouth deeply cleft, opening far behind the eyes ,
edge of the upper jaw wholly formed by the intermaxillaries; sharp
pointed teeth along the jaws, palatines, tongue, and pharyngeals, but none
on the vomer; eight or nine, and, frequently, twelve or fifteen rays in the
branchiae. The first dorsal is a little behind the ventrals, which are
large; scales on the body, cheeks, and opercula; viscera similar to those
of a Trout. They are salt-water fishes, and extremely voracious.

One of them, aS'. saurus, L., Salv. 242, is found in the Mediter-

* Another Brazilian species, Hi/droc. scomberoides, Cuv., Mem. Mus. V., p], xxvii,
f. 2, or Cynodon vulpinns, Spix, XXVI; — Cynidon gibbus, Id. XXVII.

t Another species from Brazil, the Hydroc. lucius, Cuv., Mem. Mus. V, pi. xxvi,
f. 3, or Xipho.itoma Cirvieri, Spix, XL 1 1.

% The Roschal or Water-dog of Forsk., 66, or Charactnns dcntex, Geoff. Poiss.
d'Eg., pi. 4, f. 1, and Cuv., Mem. Mus. V, pi. xxviii, f. 1, but which is not, as Fors-
kahl thought, the Sahno dentex of Hasselquist — that is the rati.

§ The Seira-sahne citharine, or Sight Star of the Arabs, Geoff., Poiss. d'Eg., pi. v,
f. 2 and 3, (Citharbius Geoffrcei, Cuv.); — Sahno Cyprinoides, Gronov., Mus. p. 378.

'I The Characin tiefasch, Geoff, lb., f. 1, or Sahno cegyptius, Gm.; it is the Sahno
niloticus of Hasselquist, very different from that of Forskahl, which is the raii.

198 fishes.

ranean*. The lake of Mexico produces a second, S. mexicanus,
Cuv., which is nearly transparent. A third, equally diaphanous,
with very long flexible teeth, some of which have a sagittiform ter-
mination, an extremely short snout, and very weak fins, — S. ophio-
don, Cuv.; Vana motta, Russel, 171, is employed in India, when
dried and ealted, as a condiment^.

•Scoteltjs, Cuv. — Series, Jiisso^,

Have the mouth and branchiae deeply cleft; both jaws furnished with very
small teeth; edge of the upper jaw wholly formed by the intermaxillaries;
tongue and palate smooth. The snout is very short and obtuse; there
are nine or ten rays in the branchiae, and besides the ordinary dorsal,
which is opposite to the interval between the ventrals and anal, there is a
very small one behind, in which vestiges of rays are perceptible.

These fishes are taken in the Mediterranean along with Ancho-
vies, where they are called Melettes. One of them, Serpe Humboldt,
Risso, pi. x, f. 38, is remarkable for the lustre of the silvery points
arranged along the tail and abdomen §.

•Aulopusj|, Cuv.,

Combine the characters of the Salmon and Codfish; the mouth well cleft;
the intermaxillaries, which form the whole of its upper edge, the pala-
tines, the anterior extremity of the vomer and the lower jaw, furnished
with a narrow band of teeth, resembling those of a card; the tongue and
level part of the ossa palati rough. The maxillaries are large and eden-
tated, as is the case with the greater number of the class. The ventrals
pre almost under the pectorals, their external rays being stout and only
forked; the first dorsal opposite to the anterior half of the interval which
separates it from the anal; twelve rays in the branchiae; body, cheeks,
and opercula, covered with large ciliated scales.

• Add, S. saurus, Bl. 384, which appears to me to differ from the Mediterranean
species; — Salmo fattens, Bl. 3S4, 2;— 6'. tumbil, Bl. 400;— the Osmere galonne, Lac.
Vj vi, 1; — the Salmone vane, Id., V, iii, 3; — the Osmere a bandes, Risso, ed. I, p.
326; — S. badi, Cuv., {Badi motta), Russel, 172; — Salmo my ops, Forster, Bl. Schn.
p. 421;— S. minutus, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. V, part I, pi. v; — S. coni-
rostris, Spix, XLIII; — S ivtermedius, Id. XLIV;— S. truncatus, Id. XLV, and seve-
ral new species to be described in our Ichthyology. N.B. Esox synod us, Gronov.,
Zooph. VII, 1, S ■■/nodus st/nodus, Schn., Synode fasee, Lac, appears to be nothing
more than a Saurus which had lost its adipose fin; its extreme smallness renders it
easily effected by friction or desiccation.

f The Salmo microps, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. V, part I, pi. iii, if not the
same species, is at least a closely allied one. It forms the genus Hakpodon of that
naturalist, who considers it as having teeth in the vomer, but they are in the pharyn-
geals, and not in the vomer: the mistake has arisen from the extreme shortness of
the snout.

% Sltopelos, the Greek name of an unknown fish.

§ I believe this fish to be the same as the pretended Argentina sphyroena of Pen-
nant, Brit. Zool., No. 156: thus it would also be found in our Ocean. — Add, the Serpc
crocodile, Risso, p. 357;— the Serpe ha/bo, Id., Ac. of Sc. Turin, Vol. XXV, pi. x,
f. 3. — But the Serpe tuicrostome, p. 356, certainly belongs to another genus, and to the
family of the Pikes.

|| Aulopos, the Greek name of some unknown fish.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTF.RYGIANS. 199

One species, Salmo filamentosus, Bl., Berl. Scbr. X, ix, 2, is
found in the Mediterranean.

* Stern optyx, Herman,

Constitute a genus of small fishes with an elevated and very compressed
body, supported by the ribs; their mouth is directed upwards; their bu-
merals form a trenchant crest in front, terminated below by a small spine,
and the bones of the pelvis form another, also ending in a small spine
in front of the ventrals, which are so small as to have escaped the notice
of the first observer. There is a series of small fossuhe along each side
of the pelvic crest, which has been considered as a festooned duplicature
of the sternum, whence the name of Sternoptyx. Before their first dor-
sal is an osseous or membranous crest which belongs to the anterior in-
terspinals, and behind that fin a slight membranous projection is visible,
which represents the adipose fin of the Salmon; the sides of the mouth
are formed by the maxillaries. Two species are found in the Atlantic,
which may one day constitute the types of two separate genera.

jS". diaphana, Herman, Naturforscher, Fasc. XVI, pi. 8; copied
Walbaum, Artcd. renov. torn. Ill, pi. 1, f. 2. Teeth small and
crowded; five rays in the branchiae; its form is singularly oblique,
the mouth being out of a vertical line.

S. Olfersii, Cuv. Teeth hooked, and nine rays in the branchiae.
Both these species are taken in the warm parts of the Atlantic
Ocean*.

The fifth family of the Abdominal Malacopterygians is that of

FAMILY V.

CLUPE.E,

Herrings, which are easily recognized by their having no adipose fin ; the
upper jaw is formed, as in the Trouts, by intermaxillaries without pedicles
in the middle, and by the maxillaries on the sides ; the body is always
covered with numerous scales, and in the greater number we find a nata-
tory bladder and many caeca. A part only of the family ascend rivers.
The

Clupea, Lin.,

Have two well-marked characters in the narrow and short intermaxilla-
ries, that constitute but a small portion of the upper jaw, the sides of
which are completed by the maxillaries, so that these sides are alone pro-
tractile; and in the inferior edge of the body, which is compressed, and
where the scales are dentated as in the edge of a saw. The maxillaries

* Our descriptions are drawn from nature. Herman refused to allow his speci-
men branchial rays and ventrals, although it possesses both; it is still in existence at
Strasbourg. We shall be more particular on this subject in our Ichthyology.

200 FISHES.

are divided into three pieces. The branchiae are so much cleft, that all
the fishes of the genus are said to die instantly when taken from the wa-
ter. The sides of the branchial rays next to the mouth are pectiniform.
The stomach is an elongated sac; the natatory bladder long and pointed,
and the caeca numerous. Of all fishes, these have the finest and most
numerous bones.

Clutea, Cuv.,

The Herrings, properly so called, have the maxillaries arcuated before,
and longitudinally divisible in several pieces; opening of the mouth mo-
derate : upper lip not emarginated.

C. harengus, L., Bl. 29, 1. (The Common Herring). This
well-known fish has the teeth visible in both jaws; carina of the ab-
domen but slightly marked; suboperculum rounded; veins on the
suborbital, preoperculum, and upper part of the operculum. The
ventrals arise from under the middle of the dorsal; the length of
the head is one-fifth of that of the whole fish, and by transferring
backwards the measure of the distance from the snout to the first
dorsal, it marks the middle of the caudal. There are sixteen rays
in the anal.

This celebrated fish leaves the Arctic seas every summer, and de-
scends in autumn on the western coast of France in numberless
legions, or rather in solid shoals of incalculable extent, spawning on
their way, and arriving at the mouth of the British Channel, in the
middle of winter, in a very extenuated condition. Whole fleets are
occupied in this fishery, which supports thousands of fishermen,
salters, and dealers. The best are those taken in the North; such
as are caught on the coast of Lower Normandy are lean, dry, and
of a disagreeable flavour («).

C. sprattus, Bl. 29, 2. (The Mellet, Esprot, Harsngvet, or the
Sprat of the English). The proportions of the Herring, but a much
smaller fish; no veins on the opercula; a gilt band along the flanks
in the spawning season*.

C. latulus, Cuv., Schonefeld, p. 41. (The Bianquette, the Brett*
ling of the Germans, and the White-Bait of the English). The
body more compressed, and the abdomen more trenchant than in the

Artedi and his successors have confounded the Sprat with the Sardine.

£J3f" (a) The Herrings form their great rendezvous in the Arctic Circle, from
which they begin to descend about April, and in general are off the Shetland Islands
in May; but the principal shoal does not arrive in our latitudes until June. It is
evident that this periodical migration is had recourse to by the Herrings for the pur-
pose of depositing their spawn in warmer temperatures. According to Pennant's
account, the great shoal is first divided in its course southward by the Shetland
Islands, on arriving at which one wing takes its course to the eastern, the other to
the western shores of Great Britain, each division having its respective leader to
guide it. The fishery begins at the Hebrides, and the fishermen there make such
good use of the opportunity, that they have made these islands the great Herring-
fishery station. The division of the fish which proceeded to the west is again sub-
divided, one portion drifting itself into the Atlantic, the other coasting down the
Irish Sea. — Eng. En.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 201

Herring; height of the body and length of the head each one-fourth
of the whole length of the fish ; the dorsal more forwards, the anal
longer, and approaching nearer to the caudal. A very small fish, of
the most brilliant silver colour, with a little black spot on the end of
the snout * (a).

C. pilchardus, Bl. 406; and better, Will. pi. 1, f. 1. (The Pil-
chard of the English, the Celan of the French). About the size of
the Herring, but with larger scales ; the suboperculum square ; ra-
diated stria? on the preoperculum and operculum ; the head shorter
in proportion than that of the Herring, and the dorsal more forward,
so that the distance from the snout to the dorsal does not reach the
caudal. The ventrals arise from under the end of the dorsal ; there
are eighteen rays in the anal, and on each side of the caudal are ex-
tended two scales longer than the rest. It is preferred to the Her-
ring, particularly on the western coast of England (Z»).

C. sardina, Cuv. ; Duham., Sect. Ill, pi. xvi, f. 4. (The Sar-
dine). So similar to the Pilchard, that the only perceptible differ-
ence is its inferior size. It is celebrated for the extreme delicacy of
its flavour, and the numbers which are taken on the coast of Brit-
tany. It is also captured in the Mediterranean, where the Herring
is unknown "f-. The

Alosa, Cuv.,

Are distinguished from the Herrings, properly so called, by an emargina-
tion of the middle of the upper jaw; all the other characters are those
of the Pilchard and Sardine.

* Species allied in form to the latulus: the Cailleu, (CI. clupeola, Cuv.), Duham.,
Sect. 1 1 1, pi. xxxi, f. 3 ; — the Sardine de la Martinique, ( CI. humeralis, Cuv.), Duham.,
lb., f. 4; — CI. melanura, Cuv., Lacep. V, xi, 3, under the name of Clupanudon Jussieu,
but the description of which belongs to fig. xi, 3, called a variety of the Clwpanodon
chinois ;- — CI. coval, Cuv., Russ. 186, &c.

f We may also separate from the true Herrings the Jangartoo, Russel, 191, or the
Clupea mela.itoma, Schn. ; and his Dilchcve, 192, which have the dorsal posterior to the
ventrals, and a long anal.

(•gp° (17) A great difference of opinion exists amongst British naturalists as to
the true nature of the White-Bait of the Thames; Pennant considered this fish as an
appendage to the Bleak (Ci/prinus alburnus); Shaw regarded it as a Carp. Drs. Tur>-
ton, Fleming, and Mr. Donovan, were of opinion that the White-Bait is the fry of
the Shad, (Clupea alosa); and this impression had been universally received until
1828, when Mr. Yarrell commenced a minute anatomical examination of the fish. It is
well known that the number of the vertebrae forms one of the most distinctive charac-
ters of fishes, and Mr. Yarrell sought accordingly if this number corresponded be-
tween the Shad and the White-Bait. In the numerous specimens examined by him
of the latter, he uniformly found the number of the vertebra 1 to be fifty-six, whilst in
the Shad it was as invariably fifty-five. — Eng. Ed.

Iggp" (b) The Pilchard fishery is exclusively carried on on the coast of Cornwall,
where the fishes are cured and dried, and nearly altogether exported to the Mediter-
ranean. The apparatus employed for catching the fish is peculiar: it is called a
" seine," and consists of three boacs, the crews of which have the management of an
immense net, that can take upwards of five millions of the fish in a single draught.
Formerly there were bounties upon the Pilchards, as also on the Herrings; but they
have been removed from both, a circumstance which has contributed to the decline
of our British Channel fisheries. To this discouragement there is added, in the case
of the Pilchard fishery, an increased import duty imposed by the government at
Naples, which has hitherto been the principal market for this fish. — Eng. Ed.

202 FISHES.

A. vulgaris; Clupea alosa, L., Duham., Sect. Ill, pi. 1, ft 1.

(The Shad). Becomes a much larger and thicker fish than the
Herring, attaining a length of three feet; is distinguished by the ab-
sence of sensible teeth, and by an irregular black spot behind the
gills. It ascends the rivers in spring, and is then highly esteemed;
when taken at sea it is dry and of a disagreeable flavour.

A.fnta, Cuv. ; Cl.finta, Lac; the Tenth of the Flemish; Agone
of Lombardy; Lachia, Alachia of Italy, &c. More elongated than
the Shad, and has well-marked teeth in both jaws; five or six black
spots along the flank. It is found as far as the Nile, but is greatly
inferior in its taste*.

Chatoessus, Cuv.

The Chatoessi are true Herrings, whose last dorsal ray is prolonged
into a filament. In some the jaws are equal, and the snout is not pro-
minent; the mouth small and without teeth j-.

In others the snout is more prominent than the jaws, their mouth also
is small. The superior combs of the first branchia unite with those of
the opposite side, forming a very singular pennated point under the
palate \.

Next to the true Herrings come some foreign genera, which approach
them in the trenchant and indented abdomen.

Odontognathus, Lacep. — Gnathobolus, Schn.,

Have a strongly compressed body, with very acute dentations, as far as
the anus ; the anal long and low ; a very small brittle dorsal, which is
almost always destroyed ; six rays in the branchiae ; the maxillary some-
what extended into a point, and armed with two small teeth directed for-
wards; ventrals have never been perceived on it§.

But a single species is known, that from Cayenne, the Odon-
tognathe aiguillonne, Lacep. II, vii, 2, which resembles a small Sar-
dine in form, but is still more compressed.

* Bloch, pi. 30, under the name of Alosa, gives afinta, the posterior part of whose
abdomen had been deprived of scales. Add, CI. vernalis, Mitch. V, 9; — CI. cestivali*,
Id. V, 6; — CI. menhaden, Id. V, 7;— CI. matowaka, Id. V, 8;— CI. palasah, Cuv., Russ.
198; — CI. kelee, Id. 195; — Clupanodon il'tsha, Ham. Buch. XIX, 73; — Clupan. cham-
pole, H. Buch. XVIII, 74, and his other species, p. 246 — 251.

The genera, Pomolobus, Dorosom a, Notemigonus of Rafin., (Ohio fishes), must
approach the Alosa more or less ; they have no teeth, but we are not sufficiently ac-
quainted with them to assign their definitive situation.

t The Cailleu-tassard of the Antilles, (Clup. thrissa, Bl. 404, f. 3), Duham., Sect.
Ill, pi. xxxi, f. 3; — Peddalcome, Russ. 197; — Megalops oglina, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc.
Phil. I, 359; — A/, votatus, Id. 36;— M. cepedianus, Id., lb.

X Clupea nasus, Bl. 427, or Kome, Russ. 196.

§ M. de Lacepede having only seen one badly preserved specimen, thought that
its maxillaries naturally projected in front of the mouth like two horns; this, how-
ever, was an accidental circumstance, for they are placed in this genus as in all the
others. It is from this erroneous idea that he g;ive it the name of Gnathobolus, i. e.
shooting out its jaws.

abdominal mala copt erygians.

Pristigaster, Cuv.,

Have the head and teeth of an ordinary Herring; four hranchial rays,
and apparently no ventrals; the abdomen strongly compressed, forming a
trenchant, convex, and dentated arch. From both Oceans*.

Notopterus, Lacep.

The Notopteri, which for a long time were placed among the Gymnoti,
approach nearer to the Herrings. Their opercula and cheeks are scaly;
their suborbitals, the lower part of their preopercula and interopercula,
the two ridges of their lower jaw, and the carina of their abdomen, den-
tated; both jaws and the palatines armed with fine teeth; most of the
upper jaw formed by the maxillary; the tongue furnished with strong
hooked teeth. The branchiostegal membrane has a single, but strong
and bony ray; two almost imperceptible ventrals are followed by a very
long anal, which occupies three-fourths of the length, and is united, as in
Gymnotus, with the fin of the tail; on the back, opposite to the middle
of this anal, is a small dorsal with soft rays.

A species is known which inhabits the fresh-water ponds of India;
it is the Gymnotus notopterus, Pall. Spic. VI, pi. vi, f. 2; the
Clupea synura, Sch. 426; or the Notoptere kapirat, Lacep. f

Engraulis, Cuv.

The Anchovies form a genus sufficiently distinguished from that of the
Herrings by the mouth, which is cleftfar behind the eyes, and by the greater
opening of the branchiae, which have twelve or more rays; a little point-
ed snout, under which are fixed the very small intermaxillaries, projects in
front of the mouth; maxillaries straight and elongated.

The common species have not even the trenchant abdomen; their anal
is short, and the dorsal corresponds to the ventrals.

E. encrasicholus, CI. encrasicholus, L. ; Bl. 302. (The Common
Anchovy). A span long; back a bluish brown; flanks and belly
silvery; is taken in countless numbers in the Mediterranean, and as
far as Holland, and is prepared for sauce after the head and intes-
tines are removed.

E. melctta, Cuv.; the Melet, Duhara., Sect. VI, pi. iii, f. 5. A
small species with a less convex profile; also from the Mediterra-
nean.

E. edentulus, Cuv.; Sloane, Jam. II, pi. 250, f. 2\. A spe-
cies without any teeth. America produces several others equally
remarkable.

* Pr. tnrdoore. Cuv., Russ. 193;— /V. caymuts, Cuv., a new species.

t If is truly the Sea-Tench of Bontius, Ind. 78, but not the Capirat or Pangais,
Ren., feuille 16, f. 90, which lias long ventrals.

J Add, Engr. lenmiscatus, Guv., or piquitmga, Marcgr. 159, Spix. XXIII; — the
Stol&phore commersonien, Lacep. V, XII, I, or Naltoo, Russ. 1S7, probably the Alhe-
rma australh, While, p. 196, f. 1 ; — the Clupee tubercu'euse, Lacep. V, p. 460.

N.B. His CI, rate d' argent does not differ from his Stoltyhore.

201' FISHES.

In a second kind, as in the true Herrings, the body is compressed,
and the abdomen trenchant and dentated*. The

Thryssa, Cuv.,

Only differ from the Anchovies with a dentated abdomen, by the extreme
prolongation of the mamillaries. The only species known are from the
East Indies"]-.

Megalops, Lacep.,

Have the jaws formed like those of the true Herrings, which they also
resemble in their general form, and the disposition of their fins; but their
abdomen is not trenchant, nor is their body compressed; their jaws and
palatines are furnished with teeth small and crowded like the pile on velvet;
their branchial rays are much more numerous (from twenty-two to twenty-
four), and the last ray of the dorsal, and frequently of the anal, is length-
ened into a filament as in the Chatoessus.

America produces a species, the Savalle or Apalike, Clupea
cyprinoides, Bl. 403, from Plunder; CI. gigantea, Sh.; Camaripu
guacti, Marcgr., which attains the length of twelve feet, and has but
fifteen rays in the dorsal; there is a filament also on the anal. There
is a second in India, the Megalope filamenteux, Lacep. V, xiii, 3,
improperly confounded with the first, under the false name of Apalike,
Russ. 203. It has seventeen dorsal rays.

Elops, Lin..

The Elops have all the characters of a Melagops, but the dorsal fila-
ment is wanting, and their form is somewhat more elongated: as many as
twenty rays and upwards are counted in the branchial membrane; the
superior and inferior edge of the caudal armed with a flat spine.
Species are found in both hemispheres J.

Butirinus, Commers.,

Have the jaws formed like those of a Herring; the body round and elon-
gated, as in Elops and Megalops, and the prominent snout of an Anchovy.
The mouth is slightly cleft, small crowded teeth in the jaws, and twelve
or thirteen branchial rays; and what constitutes their peculiar character

* Clupea alherinoides, Bl.; — CI. telara, Buch. II, 72; — CI. phasa, Id., p. 240; —
I'oorwa, Russ. 194.

•j- Clupea setiro.itris, Brousson, Dec. Ichth., copied Encycl. 316; — CI. mystus, or
Ptdda poorawah, Russ. 190; — CI. mystax, Bl. Schn. 83; — Poorawah, Russel, 1S9.

% The Elops of the Indian Ocean is the Argentina machnata of Forskahl, and the
Mugil salmoneus of Forster, Bl., Schn., p. 121 ; although he gives it but four branchial
rays, I have ascertained this by the figure. It is also the Jinagow, Russ. 170, and
the Synode chinois, Lacep. V, x, 1. The American Elops is the Mugil appendicula-
tus of Bosc, or the Mugilomore Anne-Caroline, Lacep. V, 398; the Pounder, Sloane,
Jam. II, p. 250, f. 1. The Argentina Carolina, L., is also the same fish, although he
quotes but a single bad figure, Catesb. II, xxiv; but the Saurus muximus, Sloane, II,
pi. 251, 1, usually cited as synonymous with the Elops, is of a totally different genus.
It is the Esox synodun, L., Synode fasce, Lacep., or, what is the same thing, one of our
Sauri that had lost its adipose fin.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERYG1ANS. 205

is, that their teeth are as if paved, being rounded, and closely set on the
tongue, vomer, and palatines. From both oceans.

The Elops and Butirini are beautiful, silvery fishes, with numerous
bones and caeca, that attain a considerable size*, affording an excellent
dish.

Chirocentrus, Cuv.,

Have the edge of the upper jaw, as in the Herring, formed by the inter-
maxillaries, and the sides by the maxillaries, which are united with them;
both, together with the lower jaw, are furnished with a row of stout coni-
cal teeth, the two middle anterior upper ones of which, as well as all those
of the lower jaw, are of extraordinary length. The tongue and branchial
arches are bristled with teeth, resembling those of a card, but there are
none on the palatine bones or on the vomer. There are seven or eight
rays in the branchiae, the external ones very broad. Above and beneath
each pectoral is a long, membranous, and pointed scale, and the pectoral
rays are very hard; the body is elongated, compressed, and trenchant,
but not dentated beneath ; the ventrals are extremely small, and the dor-
sal is shorter than the anal, opposite to which it is placed. The stomach
is a long, slender, and pointed sac, the pylorus is near the cardia, and the
natatory bladder long and narrow. I find no caeca.

But a single species is known; it is of a silver colour, and inha-
bits the Indian Ocean j.

Hyodon, Lesuetir.

The Hyodons have the form of a Herring; abdomen trenchant but not
dentated: the dorsal opposite to the anal; eight or nine rays in the
branchiae, and hooked teeth in the jaws, vomer, palatines and tongue, as
in the Trouts.

The species known inhabit the fresh waters of North America \.

Erythrinus, Gronov.

The Erythrins, like all the rest of the family, have small intermaxilla-
ries, and a great portion of the sides of the upper jaw formed by the
maxillaries ; a range of conical teeth occupies the edges of each jaw, and

* The But. banana, Commers., Lacep. V, 45, which is also his Synode renard, Id.
V, pi. viii, f. 2, or Esox vulpes, L., Catesb. II, i, 2, cop. Encycl. 294, is a fish found
on the Atlantic coast of America, the same as the U bar ana of Marcgr., Brazil, 154,
or Clupea Bras'diensis, BL, Schn. ; as the Am'ia of Brown; as the Albula gonorynchus,
Bl., Schn., p. 432, or Albula Plumieri, Id. pi. 86; as the C/upee macrocephale, Lacep.
V, xiv, 1, and as the Macabi, Parra, pi. 35, f. 4, or Amia immaeulata, BL, Schn. 451.
Spix has two of them, pi. xxiii, 2, and xxiv. The Butirinus of India is the Argen-
tina glossodonta, Forsk., or Argentine bonttk, Lacep , the Esox argent eus, Forst., App.
Bl. Schn. 396. Having seen the American species only, I am not yet well acquainted
with their distinguishing characters.

f The Esoce chirocentre, Lacep. V, viii, 1, sabre or sabran of Commerson, which is
the same fish as the Clupea dentex, Schn., p. 428, Forsk., p. 72, or as the Chip, dorab,
Gin., and as the Wallah, Russ. 199. It is probably also the Purring, or Cltnees, of
the Moluccas, Ren. VIII, 55.

X Hyodon clodulus, Lesueur, Ac. Nat.Sc. Philad. I, pi. xiv, and p. 367; — //. tergi-
sus, Id., lb., p. 366.

20(3 FISHES.

among the anterior ones there are some larger than the others. Each of
the palatines is provided with a plate of small and crowded teeth, and
there are but five broad rays in the branchiae. The head is round, obtuse,
furnished with hard bones, and without scales. Indurated suborbitals
cover the whole cheek. The body is oblong, slightly compressed, and
covered with broad scales, like that of the Carp; the dorsal is opposite to
theventrals; the stomach is a wide sac, and there are numerous small
cueca. The natatory bladder is very large.

They inhabit the rivers of hot climates, and their flesh is of an agree-
able flavour*.

A mi a, Lin.

The Amia? are closely related to the Erythrins in their jaws, teeth, and
head, which latter is covered with hard and bony plates, in their large
scales, and in the flat rays of their branchiee; but there are twelve of these
rays. Between the branches of their lower jaw is a sort of osseous buck-
ler, the rudiment of which is visible in Megalops and Elops; behind their
conical teeth are others resembling small paving-stones, and their dorsal,
which commences between the pectorals and ventrals, extends closely to the
caudal. The anal, on the contrary, is short. Each nostril is provided
with a little tubular appendage. The stomach is ample and fleshy, the
intestine wide, strong, and without ca?ca, and, what is very remarkable,
the natatory bladder is cellular, like the lung of a reptile.

A. calva, L. ; Bl., Schn. 80-j~. The only species known; it is

found in the rivers of Carolina, where it feeds on crabs. It is rarely

eaten.

SUDIS]:, CltV.

The Vastres are also fresh-water fishes, which have all the characters of
an Erythrinus, except that their dorsal and anal, placed opposite to each
other, and of about an equal size, occupy the last third of the total length
of the body.

There is one species with a very short snout, Sudis Adansonii,
Cuv., brought from the Senegal by Adanson, and which was also
found in the Nile by M. Ruppel; and another, «S'. gigas, Cuv., $. pi-
rarucu Spix, XVI, of a very great size, with an oblong snout, large
bony scales, and singularly rough head, from Brazil. A third, *S".
niloticus, Ehr., discovered by M. Ehrenberg in the Nile, has a sin-
gular spinal tube, which adheres to the third bianchia?, perhaps some-

* Esox malabaricus, Bl. 392; — Synodus erythrinus, Bl., Sclm. Gron., Mus. VII, vi;
— Syit. tareira, Bl., Schn., pi. 79, Marcgr. 157; Syn. paiusiris, Bl., Schn., maturaque,
Marcgr. 169; — Erythrinus tocniatus, Spix, XIX; probably also the Esox gymiwcepha-
lus, L.

N. B. The Syno-lus vulpcs, only known from Catesby, II, xxx, which appears to
me to be the same as the But. banane, and as the Synodus synodus, Schn., only known
by a fig. of Gronovius, Zooph., and Mus. VIII, 2, is a Suliiw saurus, which had lost
its second dorsal. The Esox sy/w/1 us, L. , so far as we can judge from the short de-
scription, is different.

f N. B. The Avua immaculatn, Schn. 451, or the Macabi, Parra, XXXV, 1, 3, 5,
is nothing more than the Butirin banane.

% Sudis, a name employed by Pliny as synonymous with Sphyrcena.

ABDOMINAL MALACOPTERVGIANS. 207

what analogous to that observed in Anabas and other neighbouring
genera. The

OSTEOGLOSSUM, Vumlclll,

Have many points of resemblance with Sudis, but are particularly distin-
guished from that genus by two cirri, which float from beneath the sym-
physis of the lower jaw; the anal is united with the caudal; the tongue is
bony and excessively rough, from the circumstance of its being so com-
pletely covered with short, straight, and truncated teeth, that it serves
as a grater for reducing fruits into pulp, or for expressing their juice.

O. Vandelli, Cuv. ; Ischnosoma bicirrhosum, Spix, XXV. A
tolerably large species from Brazil.

Lepisosteus, Lacep.,

Have the snout formed by the union of the intermaxillaries and maxilla-
ries with the palatines to the vomer and ethmoid; the lower jaw equal in
length, and the edges of both of them, their whole interior surface being
covered with rasp-like teeth, provided with a series of long- pointed teeth.
The branchiae are united on the throat by a common membrane which has
three rays on each side. The scales are of a stony hardness, and the
dorsal and anal opposite to each other and very far back. The two last
rays of the tail-fin, and the first of all the others, are invested with scales,
which give them the appearance of being dentated. The stomach is con-
tinuous with a thin intestine, which is twice flexed, and provided with nu-
merous short caeca at the pylorus ; the natatory bladder is cellular as in
the Amiae, and occupies the whole length of the abdomen.

They inhabit the lakes and rivers of the hot climates of America*, at-
tain a large size, and form an agreeable food"} - .

PoLYPTERUS, Geoff.

The Bichirs have the margins of the upper jaw immoveable, the middle
formed by the intermaxillaries, and the sides by the maxillaries; a sha-
greened bony plate, like those on the rest of the head, covers the whole
cheek, and there is but a single flat ray in the branchiae. The elongated
body is invested with stony scales as in Lepisosteus, and what particu-
larly distinguishes this genus from all others is a great number of sepa-
rate fins extending along the back, each of which is upheld by a strong
spine, furnished with some soft rays, attached to its posterior edge. The
caudal surrounds the end of the tail, the anal is close to it, the ventials
are very far back, and the pectorals placed on a scaly and somewhat elon-
gated arm. There is a range of conical teeth round each jaw, and behind
them others which are small and crowded, or rasp-like. The stomach is

* 1 do not believe with Bloch that the fish from the East Indies, Renard VIII,
f. jfi; Valent. ill, 459, is the Esu.vos.seus — it is more probably a species of Belone.

t The Caiman, Esox osse.us, L., 151. 390; — the Lepisostee spatufo, Lacep. V, vi, 2,
and the other species or varieties described by Rafin., FiBhes of the Ohio, p. 72, et seq.

N. B. Under the name of Esox vh/dis, Linneeus appears to have united a descrip-
tion of the Belone sent by Garden with the figure of the Caiman given by Catesby,

II, XXX.

208 FISHES.

very large, the intestines thin, straight, and furnished with a spiral valve
and a single caecum ; the double natatory bladder has large lobes, that on
the left is particularly so, and communicates with the oesophagus by a
wide hole.

There is one species with sixteen dorsals, discovered in the Nile
by M. Geoffroy, Polypterus bichir, Geoff., Ann. Mus. I, v; and an-
other from the Senegal which has but twelve, the P. senegalus, Cuv.
Their flesh is excellent.

ORDER III.

SUBBRACHIAN («) MALACOPTERYGIANS.

This order is characterized by ventrals inserted under the pectorals; the
pelvis is also directly suspended to the bones of the shoulder. It contains
almost as many families as it does genera.

FAMILY I.

GADITES.

This family is almost wholly composed of the great genus

Gadus*, Lin.,

The Cod-fish, recognized by the ventrals, which are pointed and attached
to the throat. The body is moderately elongated, slightly compressed,
and covered with soft and very numerous scales; the head is well propor-
tioned, but without scales; all the fins are soft; the jaws and front of the
vomer armed with pointed, unequal, moderate, or small teeth, disposed in
several rows, and resembling a card or rasp; the branchia? are large and
have seven rays. Nearly the whole of the genus have two or three fins
on the back, one or two behind the anus, and a distinct caudal. The

* Gadus is in Athens the Greek name of a fish also called Unos Artedi applied
it to this genus in order to avoid those of Onos, Assellus, and Mus tela, employed by
the antients, and which were thought, by the first modern ichthyologists, though with-
out proof, to indicate some of our Gadi, but which, being also names of quadrupeds,
■would have occasioned ambiguity.

gS^" (a) The word Subbracldan, which means under the arm, is used in reference
to the peculiar arrangement of the ventral fins under the pectorals. The latter fins
are considered by Cuvier as analogous to the arms of man, and hence he uses this
term. — Eng. Ed.

SUBBRACHIAN MALACOPTERYGIANS. 209

stomach forms a strong and large sac, the caeca are very numerous, and
the intestine is long. The natatory bladder is large, with strong parietes,
and frequently dentated on the sides.

The greater number of these fishes inhabit cold or temperate seas, and
constitute the object of important fisheries (a). Their white flesh, easily
separated in layers, is generally esteemed as light, wholesome, and sapid.
They may be subdivided as follows: —

Morrhua, Cuv.

Three dorsal fins and two anals ; a cirrus at the point of the lower jaw ;
they are very numerous.

Gadus morrhua, L., Bl. 64*. (The true Morue or Cabeliau.
The Cod). From two to three feet long; back spotted with yellow-
ish and brown; it inhabits the whole Northern Ocean, and multi-
plies so excessively (b) in north latitudes, that whole fleets are an-
nually dispatched to capture it. The fresh Cod is termed in France
Cabeliau, from its Dutch name.

Gadus ceylefinus, L. ; Bl. 62. (The Egrefin. The Haddock).
The back brown, belly silvery, and lateral line black; a blackish
spot behind the pectoral: quite as numerous in northern latitudes as
the cod, but not so agreeable in taste "j". When salted, it is here
called Hadon, from its English name Haddock.

Gadus callarias, L. ; Bl. 63 %; the Faux Merlan of the Paris
market. (The Dorse). Spotted like the Cod, but generally much
smaller, and the upper jaw longer than the other. The best of the
genus when eaten fresh, and in great request on the coast of the
Baltic §.

* Belon is of opinion that morrhue is derived from merwel, a name which he says
is English; it is not to be found, however, among the modern authors of that nation
— they call it Cod or Cod-fish.

f Egrrjrn, or rather Eaglefin, according to Belon and Rondelet, was its antient
English name. It is the Scheljisch of Anderson, the Germans, Dutch, Danes, &c.

% Dorsch, the name of this fish on the coast of the Baltic. Callarias, Galarias, Sec,
were undetermined antient names which were certainly not applicable to a fish fo-
reign to the Mediterranean.

§ Add, the Tomcod (G. tomcodus, Mitch.); — the Tacaud, Gode, Mollet (G. barbalus,
Bl. 166); — the Capelan (G. minutus, Bl. 07, 1); — the Wachnia (G. macrncephalus,
Tiles.) Act of Petersb. II, pi. xvi; — Gadus gracilis, Id. lb., pi. xviii; — the Saida (Gad.
saida, Lepechin), Nov. Com., Petrop. XVIII, p. v, f. 1, copied Encyclop., f. 360; —
the Bib {Gad. htscus, Penn.), cop. Encyc. 102; — Gad. blenno'ides, Pann., copied En-
cyclop. 363.

ggfT (a) The great Sand-bank of Newfoundland is the most famous of the Cod-
fisheries in the world, and is resorted to by our fishermen every season for this fish.
It is taken with the hook, and it is said to have reported to this locality in conse-
quence of the greatest quantities of its food, muscles and clams being found. — Eno.
Ed.

ggf (b) The Cod produces the most of the whole class of fishes; nearly four mil-
lions of ova (each of which becomes a cod) are spawned by each of these fishes. —
Eng. Ed.

vol. II. p

210 FISHES.

Merlangus, Cuv.
The Merlans, in which there are the same number of fins as the Cod,
but no cirri.

Gadus merlangus, L. ; Bl. 65. (The Whiting). Well known
along the sea-coast for its abundance and the lightness of its flesh;
it is distinguished by its pale reddish-grey back and silvery belly,
and by the superior length of the upper jaw; the whole fish is about
a foot long.

Gad. carbonarius, L. ; Bl. 06; Le Colin, &c. (The Coal-fish).
Twice the size of the Whiting, and of a deep brown colour; the
upper jaw shorter; lateral line straight; the flesh of the adult is
coriaceous, but it is salted and dried like the Cod* (a).

Gad. pollachius, L. ; Bl. 68. (The Pollach). The jaws and
nearly the form of the carbonarius; brown above, silvery beneath;
flanks spotted. A better fish than the preceding one, and only in-
ferior to the Dorse and Whiting. They all inhabit the Atlantic,
and live in large troops -j~.

Merluccius, Cuv.
But two dorsal fins and a single anal; the cirri deficient as in Mer-
langus.

Gad. merluccius, L. ; Bl. 164. (The Hake). From one to two
feet in length, and sometimes much longer; the back brown-grey ;
anterior dorsal pointed; the lower jaw longest. Great numbers are
taken in the Ocean and in the Mediterranean, where the inhabitants
of Provence call it the Merlan; salted and dried, it receives in the
north the name of Stoclt-fisch, which is also applied to the Cod \ {b).
The

Lota, Cuv.,

To the two dorsals and one anal, adds a greater or less number of cirri.
Gad. molva, L. ; Bl. 69 §. (The Ling). From three to four
feet in length; olive above, silvery beneath; the two dorsals of an
equal height; the lower jaw somewhat shortest, and furnished with
a single cirrus. This fish, which is almost as abundant as the Cod,
is as easily preserved, and constitutes a fishery of nearly as much
importance || (c).

* The common French name Colin is taken from its northern appellation of Kohl-
fisch, or Coal-fish.

•| Add, the St'y, Gadus virens, Ascan. 2/3.

X Add, Gad. nuigellanicus, Forst., App., Bl. Schn. p. 10; — Gad. miraldi, Kisso,
Ed. I, f. 13.

§ Lo-nga, Lange, Ling, names of this fish in various northern countries. Molua,
a corruption of morrhua, applied to this species by Charleton.

|| Add, Gad. bacchus, Forst., App., Bl. Schn., p. 53; — Lota elongala, Risso, Ed. II,
f. 47. •

Sgf (a) This is the Podley, Sillock, Cuddy, &c, of Scotland.— Eng. Ed.

gSgT (b) It is also called, with several other dried and salted fishes in this country,
Stock-fish. — Eng. Ed.

ggp"* (c) It is prepared in this country almost exclusively for exportation, and is
extensively consumed in Ireland in Lent. — Eng. Ed.

SUBBRACHIAN MALACOPTERYGfANS. 211

Gad. lota, L. ; Bl. 70. (The Burbot, or River Ling). Length,
from one to two feet ; yellow, marbled with brown ; a single cirrus
on the chin; the two fins of equal height; the slightly depressed
head and almost cylindrical body give this fish a very peculiar aspect.
It is the only one of the genus that ascends rivers to any great dis-
tance; its flesh and liver, which latter is very voluminous, are
highly esteemed *. Amongst the Ling, we may distinguish,

MOTELLA, CUV.,

In which the anterior dorsal is so low that it is scarcely perceptible.

Gaol, mustela, L. ; Bl. 165, under the name of G. tricirrhatus.
Fawn-coloured brown, with blackish spots; two cirri on the upper
jaw, and a third on the lower onef.

Brosmius, Cuv.,

Have also no distinct first dorsal, but one single long fin that extends
close to the tail.

They are only found in the North. The most common species,
G. brosme, Gm., Penn., Brit. Zool. pi. 34, (the Torsk), never
descends further than the Orkneys. A larger species, G. tub., New
Stockh. Mem. XV, pi. 8, it appears, is taken in Iceland J.
All these fishes are salted and dried.

Brotula, Cuv.

The dorsal and anal united with the caudal, forming one fin, termi-
nating in a point.

But a single species is known, the Enchelyopus barbatus, with six
cirri, Bl. Schn. ; Parra, pi. xxxi, f. 2 §. From the Antilles. The

Phycis||, Arted. and Schn.,

Only differ from the other Cods in having ventrals with a single ray, and
frequently forked. Independently of this, the head is thick, the chin
furnished with a cirrus, and the back with two fins; the second of which
is long. Some species are found in the seas of Europe.

P. mediterraneus, Laroche; P. tinea, Schn.; Blennius phycis,

* Add, Gadus maculosus, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. I, p. 83.

\ Add, Gad. cimbricus, Schn., pi. 9; or G. quinquecirrhatus, Penn., Brit. Zool. pi.
33, improperly called Mustela by Bloch and Gmelin. Compare, also, the Mustela
Tiiaculata xn&fusca, Risso, Ed. II, p. 215, and the Blennius lupus and labrus, Rafin.,
Caratt, pi. iii, f. 2 and 3.

% The names of Ling and Dorse are also applied to the Torsks (Bromus) in seve-
ral Cantons. See Penn., loc. cit., and Olafsen. Voy. en Isl., tr. fr. pi. 27 and 28.

§ My four subdivisions, Lota, Motella, Brosmius, and Brotula, are united
by Schneider in the genus Enchelyopus. This name, originally formed by Klein
for all sorts of elongated fishes, signifies anguilliform. Gronovius restricted it to the
Blennius viviparus, which is my genus Zoarcus.

|| Pinjcis, the old name of a Goby. Rondelet applied it to our first species, of which
Artedi had made a genus, united with the Blennies by Linnaeus, and re- established
by Bloch, Ed. Schn. p. 56.

p 2

212 fishes.

L. ; Salvian., fol. 230. (The Sea-Tench). The most common in
the Mediterranean ; its anterior dorsal is round, and not higher than
the other; ventrals about the length of the head.

P. blennoides, Schn.; Gad. albidus, Gm. ; Blennius gadoides,
Riss. ; Gad. furcatus, Penn. ; Merlus barbu, Duham. II, pi. xxv,
f. 4. (The Forked Hake). Another species that is also taken in
the Ocean ; the first dorsal is more elevated, and its first ray consi-
derably elongated ; ventrals twice the length of its head *.

Raniceps, Cuv.,

Have the head more depressed than that of a Phycis or of any other Cod,
and the anterior dorsal so extremely small, that it is lost, as it were, in the
thickness of the skin. From the Ocean-)-.

It is impossible to avoid approximating to the Gadi the following genus,
' )

• Macrourus, Bl. — Lepidolfprus, Risso.

Their suborbitals unite in front with each other, and with the bones of
the nose, to form a depressed snout, which projects above the mouth, and
beneath which the latter preserves its mobility. The entire head and
body are invested witli hard scales covered with small spines; ventrals
small and somewhat jugular; pectorals moderate ; first dorsal short and
high; the second dorsal and the anal both very long, uniting in a point at
the caudal; only very fine and very short teeth in the jaws. They inha-
bit deep water, and when taken from it utter sounds similar to those pro-
duced by a Gristes.

Two species are captured in the depths of the Ocean and ihe Me-
diterranean, the Lepidol. ccelorhijnchus and tranehyrynchus of
Risso, Ed. I, pi. vii, f. 21 and 22 +.

* The above characters were taken down by me with both the fishes under my eye.
The Batrackdides Gmelini, Riss., Ed. I, fig. 16, does not differ from our first species.
Add the Enchelyoims americanux, Schn., or Btennitt-i chubs, Nat. of Berl. VII, 143, or
Gaiius longipes, Mitch. I, 4. N. B. The fig. of Schn., pi. vi, is improperly referred
to the Phycis tinea, as has been truly remarked by M. de la Roche, Ann. Mus. XIII,
p. 333; it is rather that of the G. longipes.

f The Gadus raninus, Mull. Zool. Dan., pi. 45. Blennius r animus, Gmel. Batra-
choides blenniaides; Lacep. Phycis ranina, EL Schn. 57; — the Gadus trifurcatus,
Penn., Brit. Zoo]. Ill, pi. 32. Phycis fusca, Schn.

X Direct comparison has satisfied me that the Lepidoleprus ccelorh ynchus of the
Mediterranean, Risso, Ed. I, pi. vii, f. 22, does not differ in the least from the Ma-
crourus rupestris, Bl. 177, or Coryp/ieenu rupestris, Gmel., Gunner, Mem. de Dronth.
Ill, pi. iii, f. 1. On the other hand, the Lepidoleprus trachyrhynchus, Risso, lb.,
f. 21, is the same fish as the Oxycephas scabrus, Rafin., Indie, pi. 1, f. 2. The same
species, or one closely allied to it, is given in the Atlas of Krusenst. pi. lx, f. 8 and
9. Giorna had also furnished incomplete figures of the two species, Mem. of the Ac.
of Turin, Vol. IX, pi. 1. The Lepidoleprus Iracltyihynchus is also the Mysticetus of
Aldrovand. Pise. p. 342.

SUBBRACH1AN MALACOPTERYGIANS. 213

The second family of Subbrachian Malacopterygians, commonly called,

FAMILY II.

FLAT-FISHES,

Comprises the great genus

Pleuronectes*, Lin.

These fishes present a character which is perfectly unique amongst
vertebrated animals: it is the total want of symmetry in the head, where
both eyes are on one side, which always remains uppermost when the ani-
mal is swimming ; and which is always deeply coloured, while that on
which the eyes are wanting is always whitish. The remainder of the
body, although, generally speaking, formed as usual, participates a little
in this irregularity. Thus the two sides of the mouth are not equal, and
the two pectorals are rarely so. Their body is strongly compressed and
vertically elevated; the dorsal extends along the whole back; the anal
occupies the under part of the body, and almost seems to be continued
forwards by the ventrals, which are frequently united with it. There are
six rays in the branchiae. The abdominal cavity is small, but is prolonged
by a sinus, which penetrates into the thickness of both sides of the tail,
for the purpose of lodging a portion of the viscera. The natatory blad-
der is wanting, and they seldom quit the bottom. The cranium is ren-
dered an object of curiosity by this subversion, which throws both orbits
on one side; all the bones, however, common to other genera, are found
in it, but unequally proportioned. They are taken along the coasts of al-
most all countries, and furnish a wholesome and delicious article of food.

Individuals are sometimes captured whose eyes are placed on the side
opposite to that in which they are generally seen, they are then said to
be contournes, or turned; others, again, have both sides of the body co-
loured alike, when they are called doubles or doubled; it is most gene-
rally the brown side which is thus reproduced, though it sometimes hap-
pens to the white one*j\ We divide them as follows:

Platessa, Cuv. t

The Plaices have a range of obtuse trenchant teeth in each jaw, and,
generally, teeth as if paved in the pharyngeals; the dorsal extending no
farther than to above the upper eye, and leaving, as does the anal, a naked
interval between it and the caudal. The form of these fishes is rhom-
boidal, and most of them have their eyes on the right; they have two or
three small caeca. Several species are found in the seas of Europe,
such as,

* Pleuronecles, a name formed by Artedi, from pleura, the flank, and nektes, a swim-
mer, because they swim on the side. The antients gave them different names ac-
cording to the species, such as Passer, Rhombus, Buglossa, &c.

f The Rose-cofourtd Flounder, Shaw, IV, ii, pi. 43, is one of those in which the
white side is doubled.

211. PISHES.

P. platessa, Cuv.; Bl. 42; Pleuronectes platessa, L. ; the Car-
relet(a) of the French. (The Plaice). Easily recognized by six or
seven tubercles, forming a line on the straight side of its head, be-
tween the eyes, and by the pale yellow spots which relieve the brown
on the same side of the body. Its height is but one-third of its
length. Its flesh is considered more tender than that of any of this
subgenus *.

P. latus, Cuv. (Tbe Broad Plaice). Has the same tubercles as
the preceding, but the body is only once and a half as long as it is
high. It is sometimes taken on the coast of France, though rarely.

P. Jlesus, L. ; Bl. 44, and 50, under the name of PL passer f.
(The Flounder). Nearly similar in form to the platessa, but with
lighter spots; more granules on the salient line of the head; a small
rough button on the base of each ray along the whole of the dorsal
and anal ; lateral line covered with roughened scales. This species
ascends rivers to a great distance, and individuals are frequently
found turned.

I', pola, Cuv.; I rale Limandelle, Duham. Sect. IX, pi. vi, f. 3
and 1. The form oblong and approaching that of the Sole, although
wider, and distinguished from other Plaice with trenchant teeth, by
a smaller head and mouth ; body smooth, and lateral line straight.
It is considered in France equal to the Sole.

/'. limanda, L. ; Bl. 16. (The Dab). Form rhomboidal, like
that of the Flounder; eyes large, with a salient line between them;
the lateral line strongly curved above the pectoral; scales rougher
than those of the preceding, whence its French name lAmande, (from
lima, file); the teeth on a single range as in other Plaice, but narrower
and almost linear; the side on which the eyes are placed is of a
light brown, with some faded brown and whitish spots J.

Hippoglossus, Cuv.,

Have the shape and fins of a Plaice, with the jaws and pharynx armed
with teeth, which are most commonly strong and pointed; the form is
usually more oblong.

/'. hippoglossus, L. ; Bl. 47. (The Holibut). Eyes on the right
side; lateral line arcuated above the pectoral. From the North Seas,
where it attains a length of six or seven feet, and weighs from three

(d) N. R. Tbe name of Carrelet or petit Carreau has been applied by some authors
to the P. rhombus, hut contrary to the custom of our sea-ports and markets. The
true Carrelet is a young Plaice.

* It would appear thai there is a very large Plaice round in the North, which,
in some respects, differs from that taken on the coast of France, and chiefly
in the spine, which, behind the anus, lies buried under the skin — it is the PI. borealis,
Paber, Isis, torn. XXI, p. 668.

t The PI. passer of Artedi and Linnaeus .does not .differ- fjrom the Turbot; that oT
lilocb is only an old Flounder turned to the left.

I Add, Pleur. planus, Mitch. -,—Pleur. stellatus, Pall., Mem. Ac. Petersb. IiJ, x, 1.

SUBBRACHIAN MALACOPTERYGIANS. 215

to four hundred pounds. It is salted, dried, and sold in slices
throughout the whole of the North*.

The Mediterranean produces several smaller species, some of which
have the eyes on the left; one of them is the

P. macrolepidotus, Bl. 190; Citharas, Rondel. 314. Oblong;
lateral line straight; distinguished by the scales, which are larger in
proportion than in any other.

Rhombus, Cuv.

The Turbots have the teeth small and crowded, or like those of a card,
in the jaws and pharynx, as in Hippoglossus ; but the dorsal advances to-
wards the edge of the upper jaw, and extends, as well as the anal, close
to the caudal. The eyes of most of them are on the left side.

In some the eyes are approximated, the interval being occupied by a
slightly salient crest. Such are the two following large species of the
coast of Europe, the most highly esteemed of the whole genus.

PL maximus, L. ; Bl. 49. (The Turbot). The body rhomboidal
and almost as high as it is long, the brown side studded with small
tubercles.

PL rhombus, L. ; Bl. 43 ; la Barbue ; the body more oval and
without tubercles; distinguished by the first rays of the dorsal,
which are half free, and split into thongs at the extremity.

PL punctatus, Bl. 189; PL Itevis, Shaw; PL hirtus, Dan. Zool.
pi. 103; the Kitt of the English, Penn., pi. 41; Ray, Syn. pi. 1,
f. 1 ; Duham., Sect. IX, pi. v, f. 4. Much less common on the
coast of Europe; oval like the Barbue, but has no thongs to its rays;
scales rough ; teeth very small ; the cheek covered as if with fine
velvet; black spots and points on a brown ground "j~.

PL cardina, Cuv.; Duham. Sect. IX, pi. vi, f. 5 ; and Ray, 170,
pi. 1, No. 2 J; La Cardine, or Calimande. (The Whiff). Per-
fectly joblong; its first rays free, but simple; teeth very short, small,
and dense as the pile on velvet; white and blackish spots, partly
laid on a brown ground. It is sometimes, though rarely, taken on
the coast of the British Channel.

PL nudus, Risso; Arnoglossum, Rondel. 324. A Mediterranean

* The PL limando'ides, Bl. 186, or Citharus asper, Rondel., 315, and the pinguis,
Faher, Isis, torn. XXI, p. 870, also appear to be northern Hippoglossi. Add, Pleur.
erumei, Bl. Schn., or Adalah, Russel, I, 69; — PL nalalca, Cuv., or Koree nalaka,
Russel, 77.

f I have reason to believe that the PI. imimaculatus, Risso, Ed. II, f. 35, is merely
a sexual variety of the punctatus.

\ These figures represent the eyes on the right, whereas they are on the left.
Bloch, by some strange aberration, thought that the Whiff of Ray and Pennant was
the lavis, but the lavis is the Kitt of those authors — a single glance at the Hist
plate of Ray, where they are both figured, will convince any one of the fact. Add,
PL triocellatus, Schn., Russ. 76; — PL maculosus, Cuv., Russ. 75; — Pl.aquosus, Mitch,
pi. ii, f. 3;— PL Boscii, Riss. Ed. I, pi. viii, f. 33;— PL arnmaco, Cuv., Marcgr. 181,
very different from the PL macrolepidotus, which is not from Brazil, but from the
Mediterranean, and with which Bloch has confounded it.

216 FISHES.

species but a few inches long, whose large thin scales are easily dis-
lodged. The same sea produces another, the

R. candidissimus, Risso, Ed. II, f. 34; PL diaphanus, Schn. IV,
part ii, 309. Still smaller, wholly diaphanous, with a series of se-
parated red spots on the dorsal and anal.
In others the eyes are far apart, and the upper one is thrown backwards,
the interval between them being concave. At the base of the maxillary,
on the side on which the eyes are placed, is a small salient hook, and
sometimes a second one is found over the lower eye. Species of this
description are taken in the Mediterranean*.

Solea,' Cuv.

The Soles have, as their peculiar characteristic, the mouth twisted to
the side opposite to the eyes, and on that side only furnished with very
minute and crowded teeth, the opposite one being edentated. The form
is oblong; snout rounded, and generally projecting beyond the mouth;
the dorsal commencing at the mouth, and extending, as well as the anal,
to the caudal; lateral line straight; side of the head opposite to the eyes
usually covered with a sort of villosity. The intestine is long and has
several flexures, but no caeca.

PL solea, L. ; Bl. 45. (The Sole). A well-known and common
species; brown on the side in which the eyes are placed; pectorals
spotted with black, &c. — one of the best fishes.
There are several other species, particularly in the Mediterranean \.
In some foreign species there is no distinction between the three ver-
tical fins J.

MONOCHIRUS, CuV.

One extremely small pectoral on the side with the eye, the opposite one
almost imperceptible or totally wanting.

Pleur. microchims, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, 356; Linguatula,
Rondel. 324. A Mediterranean species §.

* Plcur. p~das, Laroche, Ann. du Mus. XIII, xxiv, 14, or PL rhomboides, Rondel.
313, which is also the same as the PL argus and manr.us of Risso, Ed. I.; Pleur. man-
cus, Brousson. Dec. Ichth. pi. iii, iv; — PL argus, Bl., and lunalus, Gm., Bl. 48, or
better, Catesb., Carol. XXVII.

f The Pols of Belon, 143, and of Rondel. 323, different from the one sold at Paris,
which is a Plaice, according to these authors, has the eyes on the left; I am not sure
it is the Rh. polus, Riss. Ed. II, f. 32, in which the eyes are on the right;— the PL
oeellatus, Seh. 40, the same as the PL RondeUtii, Sh., Solea ocula/a, or Pegouze,
Rondel., 322;— PI. la scar is, Risso, Ed. I, pi. vii, f. 32, and other foreign species to
he described in our Hist, des Poissons.

I PL zebra, Bl. 187; — Bl. plagiusa, L. ; — PL orientals, Schn. 157; — PL Commer-
sonien, Lac. Ill, xii, 2. or Jerri potoo, A, Russel, 70; but the description, Lacep. IV,
656, belongs to another species of the subgenus Rhombns; — the Horned-sole, Russ.
72, an incorrect figure ;—Pl. je.rreus, Cuv., or Jerre potoo, B, Russel, 71; — PI. pan,
Buck X i V, 42.

§ It is probably the Pletir. mangilii, Risso, 310, Other species exist, some of
which are unquestionably confounded with the Achiri of authors. The /'/. trichodac-
tylus must also belong to this subgenus. Add, the pegouze of Risso, 308, Ed. II, f.
33; — Mon. theophile, Id.

STJBBRACH1AN MALACOPTERYGIANS. 217

Achirus, Lacep.

Soles totally deprived of pectoral fins.

They may also be divided into Achirus properly so called*, in which
the vertical fins are distinct; and into Plagusia, Brown +, in which they
are united with the caudal.

The third family, which we shall call,

FAMILY III.

DISCOBOLI,

On account of the disk formed by their ventrals, comprehend two small
genera.

Lepadogaster, Gouan.

They are small fishes, remarkable for the following characters : their
ample pectorals, having reached the inferior surface of the trunk, assume
stouter rays, curve slightly forwards, and unite with each other on the
throat by a transverse membrane directed forwards, which is formed by
the union of the ventrals. The body is smooth and without scales, the
head broad and depressed, the snout salient and protractile; the branchiae,
but slightly cleft, are furnished with four or five rays, and they have but
a single soft dorsal opposite to a similar anal. The intestine is short,
straight, and without caeca, and notwithstanding they are deprived of a
natatory bladder, they may be seen swimming along the shores with great
vivacity. In

Lepadogaster, properly so called,

The membrane which represents the ventrals extends circularly under
the pelvis, and forms a concave disk; on the other side the bones of the
shoulder project slightly behind, which completes a second disk by means
of the membrane which unites the pectorals. Several species inhabit the
seas of Europe.

In some, the dorsal and anal are separated from the caudal, with which,
however, their membrane is sometimes continuous, but becomes nar-
rower J.

In others, the three fins are united §. In the

* PL achirus, L., Achire barbu, Geoff. Ann. du Mus. vol. I, pi. xi. It is not the same
as that of Lacep. It is necessary to observe that its barbs are not rays, but cilia,
such as are found in the common Sole, and on many of the Achiri; — the Ach. mar-
bre, Lac. Ill, xii, 3, and IV, p. 660; — the Ach./asce, Id., PL lineatus, Sloane, Jam.,
pi. 346;— PI. mollis, Mitch. II, 4.

f PI. bilhieatus, Bl. 188, or Jerri potoo, E, Russel, 74;— the Ach. orne, Lacep. IV,
p. 663; — P/eur. are!, Sch. 159, PL plagusia, aff., Jam., Br. 445, different from the
PL plagiusa, L. ; — Pl.potous, Cuv., or Jerri potoo, D, Russel, 73.

X Lepadog. gouan, Lacep. I, xxiii, 3, 4, or Lep. rostratus, Schn.; — Lep. balbis, Risso,
pi. iv, f. 9, probably the same as the Cyclopt. cornubjcus, Sh., Cornish Sucker, or
Jura sucker, Penn. Brit Zool., No. 59;— Lep. Decandolle, Risso, p. 76.

§ Lepadogaster Wildenow, Risso, p. 76.

218 FISHES.

Gobiesoces, Lacep.,

There are none of these douhle borders, and consequently the interval
between the pectorals and ventrals is not divided into a double disk,
forming but a single large one cleft on the two sides, and extending itself
tbere by membranes. The dorsal and anal are short and separate from
the caudal, and the branchial openings much larger*.

Cyclopterus, Lin.

The Suckers have a well-marked character in their ventrals, the rays
of which suspended round the pelvis, and united by a single membrane,
form an oval and concave disk, used by the fish as a sucker to attach it-
self to rocks. The mouth is wide, and its jaws and pharyngeals furnish-
ed with small and pointed teeth; opercula small; branchiae closed below,
and provided with six rays; pectorals very large, and uniting almost be-
neath the throat, as if to embrace the disk of the ventrals. The skele-
ton hardens but little, and the skin is viscous, without scales, but studded
with indurated granules. There is*a large stomach with numerous caeca,
a long intestine and a moderate natatory bladder. We divide them into
two subgenera.

Lumpus, Cuv.

The first dorsal more or less visible, although very low, and with
simple rays; a second with branched rays opposite to the anal; the body
is thicker.

Cyclopterus lumpus, L. ; Bl. 90; Le gras Mollet. (The Lump
Sucker) (a). The first dorsal so enveloped in a thick and tubercular
skin, that one would take it for a mere hump on the back; there are
three ranges of thick conical tubercles on each side of it. It feeds
on Medusae and other gelatinous animals, particularly in the North.
Its flesh is soft and insipid; heavy, and with scarcely any means of
defence, it becomes the prey of the Seal, Shark, &c. The male is
said to keep careful watch over the fecundated eggs j.

Liparis, Ar led.

A single dorsal, which, as well as the anal, is rather long; the body
smooth, elongated, and compressed behind.

* Lepadogaster dentex, Sclin., Pall. Spic. VIII, 1, the same as the Cyclopterus
nudus, Lin., Mus. Ad. Fred. XXVH, 1 ( and as the Gobiesoce testar, Lacep, II, xix,
1; — Cyclopterus birnaculatus, Penn., Brit. Zool. pi. xxii, f. 1; — Cyclopterus liltvreus,
Sehn. 199.

f The Cyclopterus pavonius is a mere variety of age of the lumpus. The Cyclop,
gibbosus, Will. V, 10, f. 2, appears to be the vulgaris badly stalled. Add, the Cyclop,
spinosus, Schn. 46; — Cyclop, minutus, (the Small Sucker), Pall., Spic. VII, iii, 7, 8,
9; — Cyclop, venliicosus, Id., lb. II, 1, 2, 3? — Gobius minutus, Dan. Zool. CLIV, B.

(a) Pennant tells us that the sucker in this fish is so strong, that, when put
into a tub of water, it adhered so firmly to the bottom, that when it was lifted by the
tail the tub was raised with it.— Eng. Ed.

SUBBRACMIAN MALACOPTLRYGIANS. 219

Cycl. liparis, L. ; Bl. 123, 3, 4. Inhabits the coast of France*.

The genus, of which we are about to speak, may, like the Pleuro-
nectes, be constructed into a particular family of Subbrachian Malacopte-
rygians.

EcHENEis(a), Lin.,

Are remarkable, above all fishes, for a flattened disk placed upon their
head, composed of a certain number of transverse, cartilaginous lamina?,
directed obliquely backwards, dentated or spiny on their posterior edge,
and moveable, so that by creating a vacuum between them, or by hooking
on to various bodies, such as rocks, ships, fishes, &c, by means of the
spines, they are enabled to attach themselves firmly thereto, a circum-
stance which gave rise to the fabulous saying, that the Remora possessed
the power of suddenly stopping a vessel in the middle of its swiftest
course.

Their body is elongated and covered with small scales; there is a small
soft dorsal opposite to the anal; the top of the head is perfectly flat; the
eyes are on the side; the mouth cleft horizontally and rounded; the
lower jaw projects beyond the other, and is furnished, as are the inter-
maxillaries, with small teeth resembling those of a card ; a very regular range
of delicate teeth, that may be compared to cilia, runs along the edge of
the maxillaries, which form the external border of the upper jaw; the
anterior edge of the vomer is furnished with a band of teeth like those of
a card, and its whole surface, which is wide, as well as the tongue, is very
rough. They have eight branchiostegal rays; their stomach is a wide
cul-de-sac; they have six or eight caeca, but no natatory bladder; their
intestine is ample but short.

The species are not numerous ; the most common one that inha-
bits the Mediterranean, Echen. remora, L., Bl. 172, well known
by the name of Remora, is the shortest, and has but eighteen lamina?
in its disk. Another and longer species, Ech. naucratus, L., (the
Indian Remora), Bl. 171, has twenty-two: and the third, the long-
est of all, Ech. lineata, Schn., Linn. Trans, pi. 17, has but ten.

We have discovered a species, Ech. osteochir, Cuv., whose pec-
toral rays are osseous, compressed, and terminated by a slightly cre-
nated palette.

* It is the same as the Gobioide smyrneen, Lacep., Nov. Com. Petrop. IX, pi. ix,
f. 4 and 6, and probably as the Cyclop, souris, Lacep. IV, xv, 3, and perhaps as the
pretended Gobius, Dan. Zool. CXXXIV; — Add, Cyclop, montagui, Wern. Soc. I, v,
1; — Cyclop, gelatinosus, Pall., Spic. VII, iii, 1; — Gobius, Dan. Zool. CL1V, A.

ggf (a) Eckeneis is a Latin word used by Pliny for a small fish, that, sticking to
the keel of a ship, was supposed to stop its course. The Romans attributed to this
animal the loss of the great battle of Actium by Anthony, whose ship it delayed.
Lucan's line, in reference to the event, is,

"Puppim retinet in mediis echencis aquis." — Eng. Ed.

220 FISHES.

The fourth Order of Fishes is that of

ORDER IV,

APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS.

This order may be considered as forming but a single natural family,
that of the

ANGUILLIFORMES.

Fishes with an elongated form, a thick and soft skin, which almost
renders its scales invisible, and but few bones. They have no caeca, but
nearly all of them possess natatory bladders which frequently assume the
most singular shapes. The great genus

MurjEna, Lin.

The Eels are recognized by the little opercula concentrically surrounded
by the rays, all of which are enveloped in the skin, which only opens at a
considerable distance back by a hole or species of tube, an arrangement
which, by more completely protecting the branchiae, allows these fishes to
remain some time out of water without perishing. Their body is long
and slender; their scales, as if encrusted in a fat and thick skin, are only
distinctly visible after desiccation ; they have neither ventrals nor caeca,
and their anus is placed far back. This genus has been successively
separated into five or six genera, which we are compelled to subdivide
still more*.

Anguilla, Thunb. and Shaw. — Mur^na, Bl.

Eels are distinguished by the two-fold character of pectoral fins and of
branchiae opening under them on each side. Their stomach is a long
cul-de-sac; their intestine is nearly straight, and their elongated natatory
bladder is furnished near the middle with a peculiar gland.

Anguilla, Cuv. — Mur^ena, Lacep.

The Eels, properly so called, have the dorsal and caudal evidently con-
tinued round the end of the tail, forming by their union a pointed caudal.

* In none of these fishes, to our knowledge, are the opercula or rays wanting,
as some authors have thought. The common Murana has seven rays on each side?
the Mnr. colubrina has twenty-five. These rays are even very strong in Synbranchus,
where the operculum is also complete, and formed of all its usual portions.

N. B. The Echelos, Rafin., Nov. Gen., p. 63, pi. xv, 1, 3, pi. xvi, f. 2 and 3, must
be of two kinds, the first Eels, and the other Congers, without branchial opercula —
but we doubt the truth of this character.

APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 221

In the True Eels the dorsal commences at a considerable distance
behind the pectorals.

In some the upper jaw is the shortest.

The common Eels belong to this division. Our fishermen admit of
four kinds, which they pretend constitute as many species, but which are
confounded by authors under the name of Murcena anguilla, L. (The
common Eel); they are the Ang. verniaux, which is, I think, the most
common; the Ang. long bee, whose snout is more pointed and com-
pressed ; the Ang. plat bee, or the Grig-eel of the English, whose snout
is more flattened and obtuse, and eyes smaller; and the Ang. pimper-
neanx, or the Glut-eel of the English, where the snout is shorter in pro-
portion, and the eye larger*.

In others the upper jaw is longest-f-.

In the Congers {Conger, Cuv.), the dorsal begins very close to the
pectorals, or is even upon them ; and in all the other species the upper
jaw is the longer.

Mur. conger, L. ; Bl. 155. (The Conger Eel). Found in all
the seas of Europe ; it attains the length of five or six feet, and the
thickness of a man's leg; dorsal and anal edged with black; lateral
line dotted with whitish. It is not in much request for the table,
still, when salted, it becomes profitable.

Mur. myrus, L. (The Myre); Rondel. 407 J. From the Medi-
terranean, with the form of a Conger, but it remains smaller; it is
known by spots on the snout, a band across the occiput, and two
rows of dots on the nape, all of a whitish colour §.

In some foreign Congers the dorsal commences even before the
pectorals, or at least on their base ||. The

Ophisurus, Lacep.

Differ from the true Eels by their dorsal and anal terminating before they
reach the end of their tail, which is thus deprived of a fin, and ends like
a punch. The posterior orifice of the nostril opens on the very edge of
the upper lip. Their intestines are similar to those of an Eel, a portion
of them, however, extending into the base of the tail beyond the anus.

The pectoral fins of some are of the ordinary size ; their teeth are
trenchant and pointed.

* We will give a comparative description of them, with correct figures, in our
large Ichthyology.

} Mur. longi.collis, Cuv. — Lacep. II, iii, 3, under the false name of Mureena myrus.

X Myrus, a fish so called by the antients, which some have considered as the male
of the Muraena; Rondelet was the first who applied it to this species, which is very
distinct, although, since Willoughby, no one has properly described it but Itisso; no
drawing has been made of it.

§ The Mediterranean produces other small species of Congers described by La-
roche and Itisso under the names of Mur. baleariea, Lar., Ann. du Mus. XIII, xx, 3,
or Mur. cassivi, Risso, Mur.viystax, Lar., lb. XXIII, 10; — Mur. nigra, Risso, p 93.
The Mur. strongylodon, Schn. 91, which is far from being a variety of myrus, as that
author supposes, should also be referred to them. — The Anguillee mar brie, Quoy and
Gaym., Zool. Voy. de Freycin., pi. 51, f. 2.

|| Mur. talubou, Russel, 38; — Mur. savanna, Cuv., from Martinique; — the C. a
chapclet, Krusenst. V, lx, 7.

Q22 FISHES.

Mur. serpens, L. ; Salv. 57. (The Snake Eel). From five to
six feet and upwards in length, and of the thickness of a man's arm ;
brown above, silvery beneath; the snout slender and pointed; twenty
rays in the branchial membrane. From the Mediterranean*.

In others the pectorals are so extremely small, as sometimes to have
escaped the notice of observers. They connect the Eels with the Mu-
rama: their teeth are obtuse -f".

Mur^ena, Thunb. — Gymnothorax, Bl. — Murenophis, Lacep.

The Mursena, properly so called, have no vestige of pectorals; their
branchiae open on each side by a small hole; their opercula are so thin,
and their branchiostegal rays so slender and concealed under the skin,
that experienced naturalists have denied their existence. The stomach
is a short sac, and the natatory bladder small, oval, and placed near the
upper part of the abdomen.

Those species which have a very visible dorsal and anal are the Mu-
renophis of Lacepede.

Some of them have a single row of sharp teeth in each jaw. The most
celebrated is

M. helena. L. ; Bl. 153. (The Roman Muroena). Common in
the Mediterranean; a fish much esteemed by the antients, who fed
it in ponds expressly constructed for that purpose. The history of
Vaedius Pollio, who caused his transgressing slaves to be flung alive
into these ponds as food for the Muramas, is well known (a). It at-
tains a length of three feet and more, is mottled with brown and
yellowish, and is excessively voracious ;£.

Others have two rows of sharp teeth in each jaw, independently of the
one on the vomer §.

In a third kind there are two rows of round or conical teeth in each
jaw; such is in the Mediterranean species.

M. Christini, Risso; M. unicolore, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII,
xxv, 15. Everywhere covered with close, small, brown points or
lines, which give it the appearance of being uniformly brown ||.

* This is doubtless the place of Mur. ophis, Bl. 154, Ophis hyala, Buchan., pi. v,
f. 5; — Ophis longmuseau, Quoy et Gaym., Zool. Voy. Freycin., pi. li, f. 1 ; — Ophisurus
guttatus, Cuv., a new species from Surinam.

N. B. The Cogrus, Rafin , Nov. Gen., p. 62, must be Ophisuri without branchial
membranes; we fear there is some mistake in this as in his Echelus.

f Mur.colubrvia, Bodd., or annulata, Thunb., or Murenophis colubrina, Lac. V, xix,
1 ; — Mur. fasciata, Thunb. j — Mut. nob. maculosa, given under the name of Ophisurus
ophis, Lacep. II, vi, 2; — the Oph. alttrnan, Quoy et Gaym., Zool. Freycin., pi. 45,
f. 2.

X Add, the M. moringu, Cuv., of the Antilles, Catesb. II, xxi; — M. punctata, Bl.,
Schn.; — M. meleagris, Sh., or M. pintade, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., pi. 52, f. 2;
— M. partheuon, Id., lb., f. 2; — M.favaginea, Bl., Schn. 105; — M. pantherine, Lacep.,
or M. picta, Thunberg.

§ Murenophis gris, Lacep. V, xix, 3.

j| The other species are new.

lEgg" («) The Romans domesticated these fishes so as to teach them to approach
at a call. It is recorded of one of the nobles in antient Rome, that he went into
mourning for a Mursena which he had lost. — Eng. Ed.

APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 223

We find some which have a single row of lateral round teeth, and two
rows also round on the vomer, the anterior ones conical*.

Another has two rows of lateral round teeth, and four rows, also round,
on the vomer, forming a kind of pavement. The fins of this species are
scarcely apparent'}-.

Finally, there are others which have several rows of teeth resembling

those of a card; and in the Mediterranean one of these is found, which is

M. saga, Risso, Ed. I, f. 39 ; La Sorciere. Remarkable for its

elongated, round, and pointed jaws, and the extension of its tail into

a very sharp point J. The

Sphagebranchus, BL

Differ from the Mursena by their branchial openings reaching each other
under the throat. The vertical fins, in several species, only begin to
project near the tail; the snout is extended and pointed. The stomach
is a long cul-de-sac, the intestine straight, and the bladder long, narrow,
and placed behind.

Some species are totally deprived of pectorals §.

Others have small vestiges of them ||.

There are even some, — the Apterichtes, Dumer., Cecilies, Lacep.,
in which no vertical fin whatever can be perceived, and consequently are
Fishes without fins^[.

MoNOPTERTjs, Commers. and Lacep.

This genus has the two branchial apertures united under the throat in
a transverse fissure, divided in the middle by a partition; the dorsal and
anal only visible in the middle of the tail, and uniting at its point; teeth
like those of a card in the jaws and palatines; six rays in each gill, and
only three very small branchiae.

M. javanensis, Lacep. The only species known ; back green,
and a fawn-coloured belly. From the Sunda islands**.

Synbranchus, BL — Unibranchaperture, Lacep.

Are distinguished from Sphagebranchus by their branchiae having no ex-
ternal communication, except through the medium of a single opening
under the throat; this aperture is round and longitudinal, and is common
to both organs. They are destitute of pectoral fins, and their vertical

* Murenophis etuile, Lacep., or M. nebulosa, Thunb., Seb. II, lxix, 1; — M. ondule,
Lac. V, xix, 2 (M. catenates, BL, Schn.); — M. sordida, Cuv., Seb. II, lxix, 4.

f Gymnomur&ne cerclee, Lacep. V, xix, 4, or M. zebra, Shaw, Seb. II, lxx, 3.

% The Nettasoma melanura, Rafm., Caratt., pi. xvi, f. 1, is at least closely allied to
this Saga of Risso. N. B. The Dalophis of Kafinesque, Caratt., pi. vii, f. 2, 3, should
be edentated Mursenae, but we do not know them.

§ Sphagebranchus rostra/ its, Bl. 419, 2, and the Leptocephalus Spal/anzani, Risso,
85; — Cacttla pterygea, Vail., Mem. d'Hist. Nat.de Copenh. Ill, xiii, 1, 2, Monti-
bukaro; aumu, Russel, 1, 37.

|| Sphagebranchus imberbis, Laroche, Aim. Mus. XIII, xxv, 18.

^] Marietta ceeea, L., Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, xxi, 6.

** I suspect it is the same fish figured by Lacep. V, xvii, 3, under the different
name of Unibranchaperture lisse.

224- PISHES.

ones are almost completely adipose. Their head is thick, their snout
rounded, their teeth blunt, their opercula imperfectly cartilaginous; the
rays of their gills are strong, and are in number six. Their intestines
are all straight, and the only difference between them and the stomach ^is
in the greater size of the latter, and in its being furnished with a pyloric
valve. They are without caeca, and their natatory bladder is long and
narrow. Their habitats arc the seas in warm latitudes. Some of them
attain a great size*.

Alabes, Cuv.

The Alabes have a common branchial aperture under the throat, as in
Synbranchus; but the pectorals are well marked, and between them is a
little concave disk. A small operculum and three rays are distinguish-
able through the skin; the teeth pointed, and the intestines as in syn-
branchus.

But a single small species is known ; it inhabits the Indian Ocean.

It is immediately after this great genus of the Muraena that a newly-
discovered fish should be placed; it is one of the most singular that is
known ;

Saccopharynx, Mitch. — Ophiognathus, Harwood,

Whose trunk, susceptible of being so inflated as to resemble a thick tube,
terminates in a very long and slender tail, surrounded by an extremely
low dorsal and anal, which unite at its point. The mouth, armed with
sharp teeth, opens far behind the eyes, which are placed close to the very
short point of the snout. The branchial aperture consists in a hole under
the pectorals, which are very small.

This fish attains a large size, and appears to be voracious. It has only
been seen in the Atlantic Ocean, floating on the surface by the dilatation
of its throat -j\

Gymnotus %, Lin.

Have, as the Eels, the gills partly closed by a membrane, but opening be-
fore the pectorals; the anus very far forwards; the anal fin extends beneath
the greater part of the body, and most frequently as far as the end of the
tail; but it has no dorsal fin whatever.

Gymnotus, Lacep.

The Gymnoti also have no fin at the end of the tail, under which the
anal one extends.

* Synbranchus marmoralus, Bl. 418; — Synb.immaculatus, Id. 419, Unibranch.cachia.
Buchan. XVI, 4, Dondoo-paum, Russel, XXXV, has no appearance of a fin.

f The Saccopharynx Jlagellum of Mitchill was six feet in length, and the Ophiog-
nathus ampullaceus of Harwood was four and a half. The first appeared to have no
teeth in the lower jaw, and it is possible that these two fishes, although found in the
same latitude, are different species; they evidently, however, belong to the same
genus.

X Gymnotus, or, properly speaking, Gymnonolus (Bare-back), a name given to
these fishes by Artedi.

APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 225

The True Gymnoti have no sensible scales; their intestines, which
have several flexures, occupy but a moderate space ; the caeca are numer-
ous, and the stomach resembles a short obtuse sac strongly plaited within.
One of their air-vessels, cylindrical and elongated, extends very far be-
hind in a sinus of the abdominal cavity ; the other, oval and bilobate, com-
posed of a thick substance, occupies the upper part of the abdomen, and
is placed on the oesophagus. The species known inhabit the rivers of
South America. The most highly celebrated is

G. electricus, L.; Bl. 156, (The Gymnotus), which, from its
almost uniform shape and obtuse head and tail, has also been
called the Electrical Eel. It is from five to six feet long, and
communicates such violent shocks that men and horses are struck
down by them. This power is dependent on the will of the animal,
which gives it what direction it pleases, and renders it effective, even
at a distance, killing fishes therewith, so situated. It is, however,
dissipated by use, and to renew it, the Gymnotus requires rest and
nourishing food*. The organ which is the seat of this singular fa-
culty extends along the whole under side of the tail, occupying about
half its thickness; it is divided into four longitudinal fasciculi, two
large ones above, and two smaller ones below, and against the base
of the ana] fin. Each bundle is composed of numerous parallel,
membranous lamina?, nearly horizontal, and closely approximated to
each other, one end terminating on the skin, and the other on the
median vertical plane of the animal : they are united with each other
by a multiplicity of small transverse and vertical laminae. The little
cells, or rather the little prismatic and transverse canals formed by
these two kinds of laminae, are filled with a gelatinous matter, and
the whole apparatus receives a proportionably large number of
nerves-]-.

CarapusJ, Car.,

Have a compressed and scaly body ; the tail much narrowed behind. From
the rivers of South America§.

We might, perhaps, distinguish from the common species those with an
elongated snout only open at the end ||.

Stern arches % 'Schn. — Apteronotes, Lacep.,

Have the anal terminated before it reaches the end of the tail, which has
a fin of its own ; a soft fleshy filament en the back, lodged in a groove
running to the end of the tail, and retained there by tendinous threads,
which still allow it some degree of liberty, a very singular mode of orga-

* See Humboldt, Zool.Obs. I, p. 49, et seq.

f See Hunter, Phil. Trans. Vol. LXV, p. 395. Add, the Gymnotus aquilabiatus,
Hunib. Zool Obs. I, pl.x, No. 2, according to whose observations this species has no
posterior natatory bladder.

% Caropo, the name of these fishes at Brazil, according to Marcgrave.

§ Gymnotus macrourvs, Bl. 157, 2; — Carapo, Gm.; — O. brachiurus, Bl. 157, 1;—
fascialus, Gm.; — G. albus, Seb. Ill, pi. 32, f. 3.

|| Gymnotus rostratus, Schn., pi. 106.

Tf Sternarchus, i. e. anus at the sternum.

vol. ii. a

l 22V) fishes.

nidation, the use of which cannot be divined*. The head is oblong,
compressed, naked, and the skin prevents both the opereula and the rays
from being seen externally; rest of the body scaly; teeth small and
crowded, and on the middle of each jaw scarcely perceptible. The Ster-
narchi, like the preceding fishes, inhabit the waters of South America j.

Gymnarcuus, Cuv.,

Have the body scaly and elongated, and the gills slightly open before the
pectorals, as in Ciymnotus ; but a fin, with soft rays, occupies the whole
length of tbe back; and there is none behind the anus, nor under the tail,
which terminates in a point. Tbe head is conical and naked, the moutb
imall, and furnished with a single row of small trenchant teeth.

Q. niloticua, Cuv. The only species known; discovered in the
Nile by M. Riffault.

LePTOCEPHALUS, Pennant.

The members of this germs have the branchial aperture before the pec-
torals ; body compressod like a ribband ; head extremely small, with a
short and slightly pointed snout; pectorals almost imperceptible, or totally
wanting; the dorsal and anal hardly visible, and uniting at the point of
the tail. The intestines occupy but an extremely narrow line along the
inferior edge. One species only is known,

L. morieii, Gm. ; Lacep, IT, iii, 2, which inhabits tbe coasts of
France and England. Several other species, however, are found in
the seas of hot climates, all of them as thin as paper, and transpa-
rent as glass, so that even the skeleton is not visible. The deeper
study of their organization is one of the most interesting to which
travellers can devote themselves.

OPHIDIUM, Lin.

The Donzelles have the anus, as the Eels, properly so called, far
behind; a dorsal and an anal fin united with that of the tail, and termi-
nating the body in a point; this body is besides elongated and compressed,
which has led to its being compared to a sword; if. is invested, like that
of an Eel, with small scales planted in the thickness of the skin. The
Donzelles, however, dillei from Eels in their well-cleft branchiie, which
are furnished with a very apparent operculum and a membrane with short
rays. Their dorsal rays are articulated, but not branched.

Oi'inmi M, CuV.
The Donzelles, properly so called, have two pairs of small cirri under

the throat, adhering to the point of the hyoid hone. There are two of

them found in the Mediterranean.

* I think, a*, far as mv observation goes, that the separation is accidental, and

Unit it really in one of llie muscles of the tail, which is easily detached in conse-
quence of the skin being more fragile in this particular place.

f Qy mnotus albifront, Pall. Spic, Zool, VIII, pi, vi, t'. I; Lacep. N,vi, HG, ;5.

N. it. The Gymnotm urns, <>< fleraqfer, belongs t<> the genua Ophidium, aval t lie
Gymtiotus notoplerut, Pall, and Gm., Notopt&re capirat, Lacep., to the Herrings.

APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 227

O. barbatum, Bl. 59. (The Common Donzelle). Flesh-coloured;
dorsal and anal bordered with black; the anterior cirri shortest;
greatest length from eight to ten inches.

O. Vassalli, Risso. (The Common Donzelle). Brown; no edging
on the fins; cirri equal. The stomach of these fishes is a thin
oblong sac; their intestines, which have several flexures, are without
caeca ; their oval, large, and very thick natatory bladder is supported
by three peculiar bones suspended under the first vertebrae, the mid-
dle one of which is moved by its proper muscles. Their flesh is

We are acquainted with a third species, which belongs to Brazil; it is,
0. brevibarbe, Cuv. Brown, with shorter cirri.
O. blacodes, Schn. 484*. From the South Seas; a very large
rose-coloured species, spotted with brown.

FlERASFER, CUV.

The Fierasfers are destitute of cirri, and their dorsal is so thin that it
seems to be a mere fold of the skin; their natatory bladder is supported
by two little bones only, the middle one being wanting.

One species is found in the Mediterranean, — Ophidiurn imberbe,
L.-j-, whose teeth are small and crowded; and another, — Oph. denta-
tum, Cuv., which has two hooked teeth in each jaw. They are very
small fishes.

Ammodytes, Lin.

The Launces have the elongated body of the preceding fishes, and are
provided with a fin, having articulated but simple rays, occupying a great
part of the back, with a second behind the anus, and with a third, which
is forked, at the end of the tail; these three fins, however, are separated
by free spaces. The snout is very sharp; the upper jaw is extensile, and
the lower one, when at rest, longer than the other. The stomach of
these fishes is fleshy and pointed; they have neither cseca nor natatory
bladder, and they live in the sand, whence they are taken after the tide
has ebbed.

Two species are found on the coast of France, which were long con-
founded under the common name of Ammodytes tobianus, L., but which
have lately been distinguished J. They are,

* Add, the Ophidiurn barbatum, Mitch. I, f. 2, which appears to be a distinct spe-
cies.

f It is the Gymnotus acus, Gm., and the Notoptifre fontanes, Risso, ed. I, pi. iv,
f. 11.

With the Ophidiurn imberbe, of the northern Ichthyologists, such as Schonefeldt,
Montag., Werner. Soc. I, pi. ii, f. 2, and the Ophidiurn tiride, Fab., Faun. Groenl.
148, I am unacquainted; I believe them, however, to be allied to the Eels.

The Ophidiurn ocellatum, Tiles., Mem. Ac. Petersb. Ill, pi. 180, iii, 27, seems to
me to approach the Gunnelli.

X It is to M. Lesauvage, a learned physician of Normandy, that we owe this dis-
tinction, but he has transposed the name of tobianus. See the Bullet, des Sc. Sept.
1824, p. 141. There remains to be ascertained whether the Ammodytes eicerellus,
Rafin., Caratt.. pi. ix, f. 4, differs from the tobianus.

Q 2

228 FISHES.

A. iobianus, Bl. 75, 2; Ray. I; Synop. Ill, f. 12, (The Lan-
con), which has the lower jaw more pointed; the maxillaries longer;
pedicles of the intermaxillaries very short, and in which the dorsal
commences only opposite to the end of the pectorals ; and

A. lancea, Cuv., Penn. Brit. Zool. pi. xxv, f. 66. (The Equille).
The maxillaries shorter; pedicles of the intermaxillaries longer; the
dorsal commencing opposite to the middle of the pectorals; the body
thicker in proportion.

Both species are common along the whole coast of France; from
eight to ten inches long, and of a silver-grey colour. They are ex-
cellent food, and are employed on fish-hooks as baits.

The whole of the fishes, of which we have heen hitherto speaking, are
furnished not only with a skeleton, which is either osseous or fibrous,
together with jaws which are perfect as well as free, but also with branchiae
invariably consisting of lamina' or combs.

The Order of,

ORDER V.

lopiiobranchiate (a) fishes,

Has also its jaws perfect and free, but it is eminently distinguished by the
gills, which, instead of resembling, as usual, the teeth of a comb, are di-
vided into small round tufts, arranged in pairs along the branchial arches,
a structure of which no other fishes present any example. They are en-
closed beneath a large operculum, tied down on all sides by a membrane
which leaves only a single small orifice for the exit of the water, and ex-
hibiting in its thickness only vestiges of rays. These fishes are also re-
cognised by the scutellated plates of mail which cover their body, and
almost always render ii angular. They are generally small, and nearly
without flesh. Their intestine is equal, and without caeca, and their nata-
tory bladder thin, but very large.

SVNGNATHUS*, Lift.

The Syngnathi constitute a numerous genus characterized by a tubular
snout, formed, like that of the Flute-mouths, by (be prolongation of the
ethmoid, vomer, tympanals, preopercula, subopercula, &c, and terminated
by an ordinary mouth, but one that is cleft almost vertically on its extre-
mity. The respiratory aperture is near the nape, and the ventrals are

* From two Greek words, sun and gnathos, (united jaws), a name composed by
Artedi, who thought that the tube of the snout of these fishes was formed by the
union of their jaws.

ggJT («) From the Greek, lophos, a tuft, and branchier, gills. — Eng. Ed.

LOFHOBRANCHIATES. £29

wanting. There is a peculiarity in the generation of these fishes, whose
ova slip into a pouch formed hy an inflation of the skin, and are hatched
there; this pouch, in some, is situated under the belly, and in others un-
der the base of the tail; it splits spontaneously for the passage of the
fry.

Syngnathus, properly so called, vulgarly designated, also, Sea-Eels,

Have an extremely elongated and very thin body, differing but little in
diameter throughout its whole length. Several species are found in the
seas of Europe.

Some of them, besides their ventrals, have a dorsal, a caudal, and an
anal*.

In others the anal only is wanting -j-. In these two groups the pouch
is situated under the tail.

Others again have neither anal nor pectorals, but are "provided with a
dorsal and caudal; their ovarian pouch is under the belly £.

A fourth kind are deprived of every fin but the dorsal §.

Hippocampus, Cuv.

The Hippocamps, vulgarly called Sea-Horses, have the trunk laterally

compressed, and considerably more elevated than the tail; by curving

after death the head and body assume some resemblance to the head and

neck of a horse in miniature. The junctions of their scales are raised

into ridges, and their salient angles into spines. The tail is without fins.

One species is found in the seas of Europe with a short snout,

Hipp, brerirostris, Cuv., Will. pi. J, 25, fig. 3; and another with a

longer snout, Hipp, guttulatus, Cuv., Will. J, 25, f. 5, both of which

have only a few filaments on the snout and body. There are others

closely allied to these in the Indian Ocean ||.

New Holland produces a larger one, which, from the leaf-like ap-
pendages that decorate various parts of its body, presents a most
singular appearance: it is the Syngnathus foliatus, Shaw, Gen. Zool.
V, ii, pi. 180; Lacep., Ann. du Mus. IV r , pi. 58, f. 3. The

Solenostomus^[, Seb. and Lacep.

This genus differs from Syngnathus in being furnished with very large
ventrals behind the pectorals, united with each other and with the trunk,
that form a kind of apron, which, like the pouch of the Syngnathi, serves

* Syngnathus typhle, L., Bl. 91, 1 ;— Syng. acus, L., Bl. 91, 2.

t Syng. pelagicus, Risso, p. C3; — Syng. Rondelelii, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, 5,
5, viridis, Risso, 65, Rondel, 229, 1; — S. barbarus, Penn., Brit. Zool., or rubescens,
Risso.

X Syng. cequoreus, L., Montag., Werner. Soc. I, 4, f. 1.

§ Syng. ophidian, L., Bl. 91j- 3; — Syng. papacinus, Risso, IV, 7; — Syng. fascialus,
Id., lb. 8.

|| Syng. longiroslris, Cuv., Will. J, 25, f. 4, and other species to be described in
our Ichthyology.

^f Solenostomus, mouth like a tube, from solen, tube, and stoma, mouth.

230 FISHES.

to retain the ova. There is a dorsal with few, but elevated rays near the
nape; another very small one on the origin of the tail, and a large point-
ed caudal; otherwise they closely resemble Hippocampus.

Only a single species is known, the Fistularia paradoxa, Pall.,
Spic. VIII, iv, 6; it inhabits the Indian Ocean.

Pegasus, Lin.

The Pegases have a salient snout, formed, as in the preceding divi-
sions, but the mouth, instead of being at its extremity, is under its base;
it reminds us, by its protractility, of that of a Sturgeon, but is composed
of the same bones as in ordinary fishes. The body is mailed like that
of a Hippocampus and Solenostomus, but the trunk is broad and de-
pressed, the branchial apertures are on the side, and there are two distinct
ventrals behind the pectorals, which are frequently large, whence the
name of the genus. The dorsal and anal are opposite to each other.
The intestine, being lodged in a cavity wider and shorter than that of the
Syngnathi, has two or three flexures.

Some species are found in the Indian Ocean*.

After describing the five orders of osseous or fibrous Fishes, with com-
plete and free jaws, we pass on to the sixth order, or that of the

ORDER VI.

PLECTOGNATHES (a),

"Which may be approximated to the Chondropterygii, with which it is
allied slightly by the imperfection of the jaws, and by the slow process of
the hardening of the skeleton ; this skeleton, however, is fibrous, and
generally its whole structure is that of ordinary fishes. The chief dis-
tinguishing character of the order consists in the maxillary bone being
soldered or permanently attached to the side of the intermaxillary, which
alone constitutes the jaw, and in the mode in which the palatine arch is
united by a suture to the cranium, and consequently having no power of
motion. Besides this, the opercula and rays are concealed under a thick
skin, through which only a small branchial fissure is visible +. Of ribs,
nothing is to be found but very small vestiges. There are no true ven-

* Pegasus draco, L., Bl. 209;— Pegas. nutans, Bl. 121; — Peg. volans, L.;—P. la-
ternarius, Cuv., whose snout is furnished with six longitudinal rows of dentations.

t This peculiar arrangement, indications of which are visible in the Chironectes,
has led several naturalists to believe that both opercula and rays are wanting in the
Plectognathes, but they are provided with them like other fishes.

(it) From the Greek, pkho, to join as in a knot, gnatlws, the jaw.

PLECTOGNATHES. 231

trals. The intestinal canal is ample, but without caeca*, and in almost
every instance there is a large natatory bladder.

This order comprises two very natural families, characterized by the
mode in which their teeth are armed, namely, the Gymnodonfes and
Sceerodcrmes.

The first family, that of the

FAMILY I.

GYMNODONTES (a),

Has jaws, which, instead of teeth, are furnished with an ivory substance,
internally divided into laminae, which, in their aggregate, resemble a Par-
rot's bill, and which in fact consist of true teeth united, that succeed each
other as fast as they are destroyed by trituration -j~. Their opercula are
small, and there are five rays on each side, all of which are almost com-
pletely hidden. They live on Crustacea and sea-weed, their flesh is
generally mucous, and that of several species is considered poisonous, at
least in certain seasons.

Two of the genera, the Tetraodons and Diodons, vulgarly called
Bloaters or Balls, have the faculty of swelling themselves up like a bal-
loon, by filling their stomach, or rather a sort of very thin and exten-
sible crop, which occupies the whole length of the abdomen, and adheres
closely to the peritoneum, a circumstance which has occasioned it to be
considered at one time as the peritoneum itself, and at another as a spe-
cies of omentum, with air. When thus inflated, they roll over, and float
on the surface, with the abdomen upwards, unable to direct their course;
but they are extremely well defended while in this position by the erec-
tion of the spines with which their skin is everywhere furnished J. Their
natatory bladder has two lobes, and their kidneys, which are placed very
high up, have been erroneously taken for lungs §. They have but three
branchiae on each sidejj, and when captured they produce a sound which

* Bloch erroneously attributes caeca to genus Dodon.

t See my Lecons d'Anat. Comp. vol. Ill, p. 125.

J See Sir Geoflroy St. Hilaire, Poiss. d'Eg., in the great work on that country. A
similar disposition is observable in Chironectes.

§ It is thus I explain the mistake of Schcepfer in the publications of the Nat. of
Berlin, VIII, 190, and that of Plumier, Schn. 513, and doubtless that of Garden,
Lin. Syst., Ed. XII, i, p. 348. As to the cellular organs mentioned by Broussonnet,
Ac. des Sc, 1780, last page, there is nothing to be found which resembles them. The
process of respiration in these fishes is similar in all things to that of others.

|| An instance of this we have already seen in Lophius.

(a) From the Greek, gumnos, naked, odous, a tooth.

232 FISHES.

is occasioned by the air rushing out of their stomach. Each of their nos-
trils is furnished with a double fleshy tentaculurn.

DiodoNj Lin.

The Diodons are so called because the jaws are undivided and formed of
one piece above and another below. Behind the trenchant edge of each of
these pieces is a round portion transversely furrowed, which constitutes a
powerful instrument of mastication*. The skin is everywhere so armed
with stout pointed spines, that, when inflated, they resemble the burr of a
chestnut tree. A number of species inhabit the seas of hot climates.

Some of them have long spines supported by two lateral roots.

The most common of this group, Diod. atinga, Bl. 125, and bet-
ter, Seb. Ill, xxxiii, 1, 2, is more than a foot in diameterf.

Others have short spines, proceeding from three diverging roots J.

Some again have spines as slender as pins or hairs §.

Tetraodon, Lin.

The Telraodons have the jaws divided in the middle by a suture, so as
to present the appearance of four teeth, two above and two below; spines
on the skin small and low. Several species are said to be poisonous.

T. Uneatus, L. ; Fahaca of the Arabs ; Fiasco psaro of the

Greeks; T. physa, Geoff., Poiss. d'Egypt. I, 1; Rondel. 419.

Back and flank longitudinally striped with brown and whitish.

From the Nile, which, during its inundations, casts thousands of

them on shore, where they serve' as play things for the children.

Some of them have a laterally compressed body, and a somewhat

trenchant back; their power of inflation must be less than the others.

One of them is electrical II.

* Fossil jaws of this description are not uncommon.

t The Diod. histrix, Bl. 126, is the same species uninflated. To avoid all equivo-
cation, I call it Diodon punclatus ; — Add, Diod. spinosissimus, Cuv., Mem. Mus. IV,
p. 134, Seb. Ill, xxiv, 10;— Diod. triedricus, Cuv., Mem. Mus. IV, p. 133, Seb. II,
xxiii, 4; — D. nictemerus, Cuv., loc. cit. IV, vii, 5; — D. novem-maculatus, Id., lb. VI,
.">; — D. scx-maeulatus, Id., lb. Vll, 1; — D. multi-maculutus, Id., lb. 4.

X Diod. tigrinus, Cuv., Mem. Mus. IV, vi, 1, or orbiculatits, Bl. 127, Seb. Ill, xxiii,
3; — D. rivulattts, Cuv., lb. 2, or maculato-strialus, Mitch. VI, 3, probably the Orbe,
Lacep. I, xxiv, 3; — D. jaculiferus, Cuv., loc. cit. VII, 3; — D. antennatus, Id., lb. 2.

§ Diod. piloms, Mitchil. 1, 471.

|| The head and tail of the fishes of this genus are generally smooth, but the rest
of their body is rendered more or less rough, by the very small spines which arise from
the skin. The various combinations of the smooth and rough parts, and the different
configurations resulting from the more or less oblique form of their head, have al-
lowed me to arrange them in the following manner: —

I. Species with a short head, possessing the faculty of inflating themselves so as
to attain a globular form.

1st. The entire body rough.

A. Immaculate; — Tetr.immaculatus, Lacep. I, xxiv, 1, Russel, I, 26.

B. With black spots;— Tetr. mouchete, Lacep. I, xxv, i, or T. Commersonii, Schn.,
Iluss. I, 28; — Tetr. ftuviatilis, Buchan. XXX, 1; — Tetr. geometricus, Bl. Schn.,
Catesb. II, xxviii.

C. With black bands;— Tetr. fahaca, or T. physa, Geoff., Poiss. d'Eg. I, 1 ;— T.
Uneatus, Bl. 141, tu which the Tetr. psittatus, Bl., Schn. 'Jo, is at least closely allied.

PLECTOGNATHES. 233

I separate from the genera of Diodons and Tetraodons,

Cephalus, Sh. — Orthagoriscus, Schn.,

The Moles, vulgarly called Sun Fishes, which have the jaws undi-
vided as in Diodon ; but the body, compressed and spineless, is not
susceptible of inflation, and the tail is so short and high that this fish
resembles one whose posterior portion has been truncated, producing a
singular appearance, which is amply sufficient to distinguish it. The
dorsal and anal, both high and pointed, are united to the caudal ; the na-
tatory bladder is wanting; the stomach is small and penetrated directly
by the ductus choledocus. A thick layer of a gelatinous substance is
spread under the skin.

C. brevis, Sh.; Tetr. mold, L. ; Bl. 128*. (The Short Sun
Fish). Four feet and more in length, and weighing upwards of
three hundred pounds ; the skin is very rough, and of a fine silver
colour. European seas.

C. oblongus ; Orthagoriscus oblongus, Bl., Schn. 97. (The
Oblong Sun Fish). Skin hard, and divided into small angular
compartments. Cape of Good Hope.

C. spinosus ; Orth. spinosus, Bl. Schn.; Diodon molct, Pall.,
Spic. Zoo). VIII, pi. iv, f. ; and better, Kaelr., Nov. Com. Petrop.
X, pi. viii, f. 3. A third and very small species, with a few spines,
which is sometimes taken in the Atlantic.

D. With pale spots; — Tetr. testudineus, Bl. 139, of which the T. reticularis, Bl.,
Schu., appears to be a variety ; — T. hispidus, Lacep. I, xxiv, 2, and Geoff. Poiss. d'Eg.
I, 2;—T. patoca, Buchan. XVIII, 2.

2nd. The entire body smooth: T. kevissimus, BL, Schu. ; — T. cuiculia, Buchan.
XIII, 3.

3rd. The flanks only smooth, aud with lateral tentacula: T. Spengleri, Bl. 14<t,
Seb. Ill, xxiii, 7 and 8, the same as the Tetr. Plumieri, given from Plumier, Lacep.
I, xx, 3. N. B. That which Lacepede considered a lump is only the pectoral of the
other side, the point of which is visible, and that the Sphero'ide tubercule, Lacep. II,
1, is drawn from the same plate of Plumier, and represents the same fish seen in
front. Schneider was aware of this, Bl., Schn., Ind. pi. vii; — T. honkenii, Bl. 143.

4th. Smooth flanks, without lateral tubercles: T. ocellatus, Bl. 145; — T. turgidus,
Mitch, pi. vi, f. 5; — T. lunaris, Russel, I, 29.

II. Species with an oblong head.

1st. The flanks only smooth: T. argentatus, Lacep., Ann. Mus. IV, xiii.
2nd. Back and flanks smooth, the belly only rough: T. lagocepltalus, Bl. 143, and
Seb. Ill, xxiii, 5 and 6; — -T. loevigatus, Will., pi. J, 2.

III. With a carinated back: T. rostralus, Bl. 140, 2, to which the T. eleclricw,
Paters. Phil. Trans, vol. 76, pi. 3, is closely allied; — T. Granovii.

* Add, Ort. oblongus, Schn. 97; — Ort. vurius, Lacep. I, xxii, 2; — Ort. hispidus,
Nov. Com., Petr. X, viii, 2 and 3.

N.B. The Ouo'ide faxce, Lacep. I, xxiv, 2, the Ovum Commersonii, Schn. 108, was
described and figured by Commerson from a stuffed specimen which he himself sus-
pected was a mutilated Tetraodon, and which, in fact, is a Tetraodon limatus that had
lost its fins.

The Sphero'ide tubercule was given, as we have stated, from a drawing of Plumier,
which represents a front view of a Tetraodon whose vertical fins a.e not visible.
Conf., Schn., Index, LVII. These two genera must consequently be suppressed.

2o\> FISHES.

"We also form a distinct genus of

Triodon, Cur.,

Triodons, whose upper jaw is divided as in the Tetraodons, and the lower
one single, as in the Piodons. An enormous dewlap, almost as long as
the body and twice as high, is supported before by a very large bone
which represents the pelvis, and approximates them to certain Balistes.
Their fins are those of a Diodon, their body is rough as in Tetraodon,
and the surface of their dewlap is covered with numerous, small, rough
crests, placed obliquely.

T. bursarivs, Reinw. ; Triad, macroptere, Less, and Gain., Voy.
de Duper., Poiss. No. 4. Tbe only species known; it was disco-
vered in the Indian Ocean by M. lleinward.

FAMILY II.

SCEERODERMES.

The second family of the Plectognathes is easily distinguished by a
conical or pyramidical snout, prolonged from the eyes and terminated by
a small mouth, armed with a few distinct teeth in each jaw. The skin is
usually rough, or invested with hard scales; the natatory bladder is oval,
large and strong.

Balistes*, Lin.

The Balistes have the body compressed; eight teeth in a single row in
each jaw, generally trenchant; the skin scaly or granulated, but not ex-
actly osseous; the first dorsal composed of one or more spines articulated
with a particular bone which is attached to the cranium, marked by a fur-
row into which they are received; the second dorsal long, soft, and placed
opposite to a nearly similar anal. Although the ventrals are wanting, a
true pelvic bone is observed in the skeleton suspended to the bones of the
shoulder.

These fishes abound in the torrid zone, near rocks which rise to the
surface of the water, where they display their brilliant colours like the
Chaetodons. Their flesh, which is but lightly esteemed at all times, be-
comes, it is said, poisonous during the period in which they feed on the
coralline Polypi ; fucus is all that I met with in those I opened.

Balistes, proper,
Have the entire body covered with very hard, large, rhomboidal scales,

* Balistes, a name given to these fishes by Artedi, from I heir Italian appellation
Pesce halcstru, which is itself derived from ;> supposed similitude between the mo-
tion of their great dorsal spine and that of a cross-bow.

PLECTOGNATHES. I>'00

which do not overlap, and have the appearance of compartments of the
skin; the first dorsal lias three spines, the first of which is much the
longest, and the third very small and placed far back; the extremity of
the pelvis is always salient and prickly, and behind it are some spines in-
volved in the skin, which, in the long species, have been considered as
rays of ventrals.

Some of them have no peculiar caudal armature, and of these, again,
some have scales behind the gills, which are no larger than the others.
Such is a species that inhabits the Mediterranean, the

B. capriscus, L. ; Salv. 207, and Will. I, 19; Pourc, Pesce
balestra, &c. (The Mediterranean File-Fish). Brownish-grey,
spotted with blue, or greenish. Its flesh is not esteemed*.

Others, with this unarmed tail, have scales behind the gills which are
larger than the rest -p.

In the greater number, the sides of the tail are armed with a certain
number of rows of spines bent forwards, and all those of this division
with which we are acquainted have scales behind the gills larger than the
others J.

MONOCANTHUS, CuV.,

Have only very small scales, covered with stiff and thickly- set asperities,
like the pile on velvet; extremity of the pelvis salient and spinous as in
the true Balistes, a single large serrated spine in the first dorsal, or at
least the second one is almost imperceptible.

* I suspect the B. maculatus, El. 151, is the same as the capriscus. I am even
inclined to believe that such is also the case with the B. buniva, Lacep. V, xxi, 1. —
Add, Bui. stellaris, Echn., Lacep. I, vi; — Bah sufflamen, Mitch. VI, 2; — Bahjellaha,
Cuv., Lamaycllaka, Russel, I, 22.

f Bah farcij a/us, Will. I, 22;- Bah vetula, Bl. Io0;—Eah punctatns, Gm., Will.,
Aj p. 9, f. 4. We might also distinguish the Bah voir, Lacep. I, xv, remarkable for
its upper lateral teeth, which are prolonged into canines, and for the great forks of its
tail. N.B. The B. niger, Schn., does not differ from the Ringens; — Bal.fuscus,
Schn., or B. Grandes tac/tes, Lacep. I, 373, remarkable for its naked cheeks furnish-
ed with rows of tubercles.

X Species with two or three rows of spines. Bah luteal us, Schn. S7, Renard, 217,
or B. lamouroux, Quoy and Gaym., Voy. Freycin. pi. 47, f. 1 ? Bid. cettdre, Lacep. I,
xvii, 2, or B. arcuatvs, Schn., Journ. de Phys., Juillet, 1771.

Species with three rows. Bid. aculeafus, L., 151. 149, Lac. 1, xvii, 1, Renard, I,
28, t. 154, and II, 28, f. 136; — /?«/. verrucosus, L , Mus. Ad. Fred. XXVii, ,57, the
same as B. pralin, Lacep. I, 335, and the B. riridis, Schn.

Species with tour or live rows. Hah ccharpe, Lacep. 1, xvi, 1, or Bah rectangulus,
Schn., or Bah medinUla, Quoy and Gaym., Zool. de Freycin. pi. 46, f. 2;— Bah con-
spicillum, Schn., Renard, 1, 15, f. 88, and Lacep. I, xvi, 3, under the improper name
of Batiste americain — it is from the Indian Ocean; — B. viridescens, Schn., or verddtre,
Lacep. I, xvi, 3.

Species with six or seven rows. Bahama. Lacep. XVIII, 2. N.B. Itisneither
tli • armalus of Schn., nor, as he supposes, his chrysopterus ; — Bai. ringens, Bl. 152,
2, or niger, Schn., or sillonne, Lacep. I. xviii, 1.

Species with twelve or fifteen rows. Bah bursa, Schn.; B. bourse, Lacep. HI, 7,
Renard, I, 7, and Sonnerat. Journ. de Phys., 1774.

Species in which the spines are not very sensible, nnd are reduced to small tuber-
cles. Bah bride, Lacep. 1, xv, 3;— Bal. etoile, Lacep. I, xv, 1, or B. stellaris, Schn.,
or Dondrum yellakah, Russel, XXIII.

KB. If the Balistapus of Til; -. iu ... Mem. Acad. Perersb. VII, ix, actually
want the pelvis, it will form a ub( iti immediately after the true Balistes.

236 FISHES.

In some of them the pelvic bone is very moveable, and is connected
with the abdomen by a sort of extensible dewlap; strong spines are fre-
quently observed on the sides of their tail*

Others are distinguished by the sides of their tail being bristled with
stiff setae f.

Some, because their body is completely covered with small pediculated
tubercles;};.

Others, again, because that same part is furnished with slender and
frequently branched cilia §.

A fifth kind have none of these various characters ||.

Aluteres, Cuv.,

Have an elongated body covered with small and scarcely visible granules;
a single spine is the first dorsal; the chief character is in the pelvis,
which is completely hidden under the skin, and is without that spinous
projection observed in the other Balistes ^[.

Triacanthus, Cuv.,

Are distinguished from all other Balistes, by a kind of ventrals, each of
which is supported by a single large spinous ray, adhering to a non-salient
pelvis. The first dorsal has three or four small spines behind a very large
one. The skin is crowded with small scales, and the tail is longer than
in the other subgenera.

But a single species is known; it inhabits the Indian Ocean**.

Ostracion, Lin.

The Coffres have the head and body covered with regular bony plates
instead of scales, soldered in such a manner as to form a sort of inflexible
shield, which invests them, so that the only moveable parts are the tail,
fins, mouth, and a sort of small lip with which the edge of their gills is
furnished, all passing through holes in this coat of mail. The greater
number of their vertebrae are also soldered together, and each of their

* Balistes chinensis, Bl. 152, 1; — Bal. tomentosus, Id. 14S, which is not that of
Linnaeus, but the Pira aca, Marcgr. 154; — Bal. japonicus, Tiles., Mem. Soc. Moscow,
vol. II, pi. 13; — Bal. pelleon, Quoy and Gaym., Zool. de Freycin. pi. 45, f. 3; — Bal.
geographicus, Per., Cuv., Regn. Animal, pi. ix, f. 2.

f Bal. tomentosus, L., Seb. Ill, xxiv, f. 18, Gronov., Mus. VI, f. 5; — B. a brosset,
Bal. scopas, Commers., Lacep. I, xviii, 3, agreeing with the description given by Lin-
naeus of the hispidus, but neither with the character nor figure quoted by Seba.

X Bal. papillusus, Schn., White, p. 254.

§ Bal. pe7iicilligcrus, Peron., Cuv., K,egne Animal, pi. ix, f. 3; — Bal. villosus,
Ehrenb.

|| Bal. hispidus, L., Seb. Ill, xxxiv, 2;— Bal. longirostris, Schn., Seb. Ill, xxiv,
19; — Bal. papillosus, L. ? Lacep. I, xvii, 3, under the name of monoceros, Clus.,
Exot., lib. VI, cap. xxviii; — Bal. villosus, Cuv.; — Bal. guttatus, Id.

% Bal. 7twnoceros, L. ; Catesb. 19; — the monoceros of Bl., which is different, 147; —
Bal. Icevis, Bl. 414; — Acaramucu, Marcgr. 163, also differing from the three preceding
ones; — Bal. Kleinii, Misc. Ill, pi. iii, f. 2; — Al. cryplacaulhus, Cuv., Ren. II, part of
pi. xlii, f. 284.

•• Bal. biaculeatus, Bl. 148, 2.

Numerous species of all these subgenera will be described in our Hist, des Pois-
sons.

CHONDROPTERYGIANS. 237

jaws is armed with ten or twelve conical teeth. The external branchial
aperture is a mere slit furnished with a cutaneous lobe, but internally we
find an operculum and six rays. Both the pelvis and ventrals are want-
ing, and there are but a single dorsal and ventral, both small.

They have but little flesh ; their liver, however, is large, and produces
much oil. Their stomach is membranous and large ; some of them are
considered poisonous.

They may be divided according to the form of their body and the spines
with which it is armed; we are not certain, however, that there is not, in
this respect, some sexual difference*.

The Second Series of the Class of Fishes, or the

CHONDROPTERYGIANS,

Can be considered neither as superior nor inferior to that of the ordinary
fishes, for several of its genera approach the Reptiles in the conformation
of the ear and of the genital organs, while, in others, the organization is
so simple, and the skeleton so much reduced, that we might be excused
for hesitating to place them among vertebrated animals at all. They
therefore constitute a series somewhat similar to the first, as the Marsu-
pialia, for instance, bear a resemblance to the other unguiculated Mam-
malia.

The skeleton of the Chondropterygians is essentially cartilaginous;
that is, it contains no osseous fibres, the calcareous matter being depo-
sited in small grains, and not in filaments ; hence the absence of sutures
in their cranium, which is always formed of a single piece, but in which,
by means of projections, depressions, and holes, regions analogous to
those in the cranium of other fishes may be distinguished. It sometimes

* 1st. A triangular body without spines. Ost. triqiteter, Bl. 130; — Ost. concate-
nate, Bl. 131.

2nd. A triangular body armed with spines behind the abdomen. Ost. bicaudalis,
Bl. 132;— Ost. trigonus, Bl. 135.

3rd. A triangular body armed with spines before and behind the abdomen. Ost.
quadricornis, Bl. 134.

4th. Triangular, the ridges armed with spines. Ost. stel/ifer, Sehn. 97; the same
as the Ost. bicuspis, Blunemb., Abb. 58.

5th. Triangular, without spines. Ost. cubicus, Bl. 137; — Ost. punctatus and lenti-
gbwsus, Schn., Seb. Ill, xxiv, 5; Lacep. I, xxi, 1, or meleagris, Sh., Gen. Zool. V,
part II, pi. 172;— Ost. nasus, Bl. 138, Will. I, ii;— Ost. tuberculatum, Will. I, 10.

6th. A triangular body armed with spines before and behind the abdomen. Ost.
cornutus, Bl. 133.

7th. A quadrangular body, the ridges armed with spines. Ost. diaphanus, Schu.,
p. 501; — Ost. turritus, Bl. 136.

8th. A compressed body, with a carinated abdomen and scattered spines. Ost. auri-
tus, Sh., Nat Misc. IX, No. 338, and Gen. Zool. V, part II, pi. lviii, 1, and some
neighbouring species.

N.B. The Ost. areas, Seb. Ill, xxiv, 9, is perhaps a mere variety of the cornuttu ;
and the gibbosits, Aldiov. 561, appears to me to be a badly drawn triqueter.

238 FISHES.

happens that moveable articulations, which are found in other orders, are
not met with in this one; part of the vertebras of certain Rays, for in-
stance, being united in a single body; some of the articulations of the
bones of the face also disappear, and the most apparent character of this
division consists in the absence of the maxillaries and intermaxillaries, or
rather in their reduction to mere vestiges concealed under the skin, while
their functions are fulfilled by bones analogous to the palatines, and even
sometimes by the vomer. The gelatinous substance, which in other fishes
fills the intervals of the vertebras, and only communicates with them by a
small hole, forms a long cord in several of the Chondropterygians, which
traverses the bodies of almost all the vertebrae, without scarcely varying in
diameter.

This series is divided into two orders — the Chondropterygians, whose
branchiae are free, like those of ordinary fishes, and those in which
they are fixed, that is to say, attached to the skin by their external edge
in such a manner that the water can only escape from their intervals
through holes on the surface.

The first order of Chondropterygians, or the seventh of the class of

Fishes :

ORDER I.

THE STURIONES, or CHONDROPTERYGIANS WITH
FREE GILLS.

The Fishes of this order are still closely allied to the ordinary fishes in
their gills, which have but a single wide opening, and are furnished with
an operculum, but without rays in the membrane. It comprises but two
genera.

Acipenser*, Lin,

The general form of the Sturgeon is similar to that of the Shark, but
the body is more or less covered with bony plates in longitudinal rows;
the exterior portion of the head is also well mailed; the mouth, placed
under the snout, is small and edentated; the palatine, soldered to the
maxillaries, converts them into the upper jaw, and vestiges of the inter-
maxillaries are found in the thickness of the lips. This mouth, placed on
a pedicle that has three articulations, is more protractile than that of the
Shark. The eyes and nostrils are on the side of the head, and cirri are
inserted under the snout. The labyrinth is perfectly formed in the cra-
nial bone, but there is no vestige of an external ear. A hole perforated
behind the temple is a mere spiracle, which leads to the branchiae. The

* Aclpensi'r is the anticnt name; Sfurio,- whence Sturgeon, is modern, and Is pro-
l):il>l\ theGerman name Sloer latinized.

FUEK-GILLED CIION DROPTERVGIANS. 239

dorsal is behind the ventrals, and the anal under it. The caudal sur-
rounds the extremity of the spine and has a salient lobe beneath, shorter,
however, than its principal point. Internally, we already find the spinal
valve of the intestine and the united pancreas of the Selachii, but there is,
moreover, a very large natatory bladder, which communicates with the
oesophagus by a wide hole.

The Sturgeon ascends certain rivers in great numbers from the sea,
and is the object of important fisheries; the flesh of most species is
agreeable, their ova are converted into caviar, and their natatory bladder
into isinglass. Western Europe produces

A. sturio, L. ; Bl. 88. (The Common Sturgeon). Six or seven
feet long: snout pointed; plates strong and spinous, arranged in five
rows; the flesh resembling veal.

The rivers which empty themselves into the Black and Caspian
seas, in addition to the sturio, produce three other species, and per-
haps more*.

A. ruthenus, L.; A. pygmceus, Pall., Bl. 89. (The Small
Sturgeon or Sterlet). Seldom more than two feet in length; plates
of the lateral rows more numerous and carinated, those of the belly
fiat. It is considered a delicious fish, and its caviar is reserved for
the Russian court. There is reason to believe that it is the Elops
and the Acipenser, so highly celebrated among the antients J.

A. helops, Pall.; A. stellatus, Bl. Schn. ; Marsill., Dan. IV, xii,
2; the Scherg of the Germans; Sevreja of the Russians. Four
feet in length, and has a longer and more slender snout, and rougher
plates than the others. This species is prodigiously abundant, but
is less valued than the Sturgeon.

A. huso, L. ; Bl. 129; the Hansen, &c. (The Hausen, or Great
Sturgeon). Blunter plates and a shorter snout and cirri than those
of the Common Sturgeon; the skin also is smoother. It is frequently
found to exceed twelve and fifteen feet in length, and to weigh more
than twelve hundred pounds. One specimen was captured whose
weight amounted to near three thousand pounds. The flesh is not
much esteemed, and is sometimes unwholesome, but the finest isin-
glass is made from its natatory bladder. It is also found in the
Po.

North America has several species of this genus which are pecu-
liar to itt.

* The various species of the Sturgeon are not yet well determined, and even
Pallas, who knew more of them than any one else, does not give them sufficiently
distinct comparative characters; he does not agree either wi;h Kramer, Guldenstedt,
or Lepechin. The figures of Marsigli, on the other hand, are too coarse. W e ex-
ter ones from the Learned Austrian naturalists, to whom the Danube offers
abundance of these ii

f See my note on Pliny, Lemair's Ed. vol. II, p. 7!.

t Acip. oxyrhynchux, Lesneur, Amer. Philos. Trans., new series, vol. 1, p. 394; —
Aiip. breviroslris, Id.. lb. 390—./.". rubkimdus, Id., lb. 388, and pi. xii, which ap-
pears to bear a close resemblance to the Sterlet; — Ac. maculusus, Id., lb. 392, ap-

240 FISHES.

Polyodon, Lac. — Spatularia, Sh.

These fishes are recognised at once by the enormous prolongation of
their snout, to which its broad borders give the figure of the leaf of a tree.
Their general form and the position of their fins remind the observer of
a Sturgeon, but their gills are still more open, and the operculum is pro-
longed into a membranous point which extends to near the middle of the
body. The mouth is well cleft and furnished with numerous small teeth.
Their upper jaw is formed by the union of the palatines with the maxil-
laries, and the pedicle has two articulations. The spine of the back is
furnished with a cord like that of the lamprey; and the spiral valve,
common to almost all the Chondropterygians, is found in the intestine,
but the pancreas begins to be divided into caeca — they have a natatory
bladder.

But a single species is known, the Polyodon feuille, Lacep. I,
xii, 3; Squalus spatula, Mauduit, Journ. de Phys. 1774, pi. 11.
From the Mississippi.

Chuvitera *, Lin.

The Chimaerse are closely allied to the Sharks in their general form
and in the position of their fins, but all their branchiae open externally by
a single apparent hole on each side, although if we penetrate more deeply,
we find that they are attached by a large part of their edges, and that in
fact there are five particular holes terminating in the bottom of the com-
mon aperture. A vestige of an operculum, however, is concealed under
the skin. The jaws are still more reduced than in the Shark, for the
palatine and tympanic bones are also mere vestiges suspended to the sides
of the snout, and the vomer is the only representative of the upper jaw.
Hard and indivisible plates supply the place of teeth, four on the upper
jaw and two on the lower. The snout, supported like that of a Shark,
projects forwards, and is pierced with pores arranged in tolerably regular
lines; the first dorsal, armed with a strong spine, is placed over the pec-
torals; the males are recognised, as among the Squali, by bony appen-
dages of the ventrals, which are divided, however, into three branches,
and they have, besides, two spinous lamina; situated before the base of
these same ventrals; a fleshy appendage between the eyes is terminated
by a group of small spines. The intestine of the Chimaerae is short and
straight, it is furnished, however, with the spiral valve, as in the Shark.
They produce very large coriaceous eggs with flattened and hairy borders.
In the

Chimera, Cuv.,

Or true Chimaera, the snout is simply conical; the second dorsal com-
mences immediately behind the first and extends to the tip of the tail,
which is drawn out in a long filament, and is furnished beneath with
another fin similar to the caudal of a Shark. But one species is known,
C. monsirosa, L. ; Bl. 124, and Lacep. I, xix, 1, the female;

• This name was given to them on account of their fantastic figure, which, when
they are carelessly dried, as was the case with the specimens first represented by
Clusius, A.ldvovandrus, &c, appears monstrous.

FlXED-GILLED CHONDROPTERYGIANS. 241

vulg., King of the Herrings ; the Chat of the Mediterranean.
(The Arctic Chimsera.) Two or three feet long, of a silvery
colour, and spotted with brown. It inhabitants our seas, and it
is caught generally in the wake of the Herrings. In the

• Callorhynchus, Gronov.

The snout is terminated by a fleshy appendange resembling a hoe
as to form. The second dorsal commences over the ventrals and
terminates opposite the beginniug of the fin attached to the under
part of the tail. But one species is known.

Chim. callorhynch., L. ; Lacep. I, xii, a female. (The Antarc-
tic Chimsera.) From the South Seas.

ORDER II.

The Second Order of Cbondropterygians or the Eighth of Fishes
is that of the

FIXED GILLED CHONDROPTERYGIANS.

Which, instead of having those organs free on the external edge,
and opening all their intervals into a large common orifice, as is
the case in all the fishes of which we have hitherto spoken, have them
adhering by this external edge in such a manner that they permit
the water to escape through as many holes pierced in the skin as there
are intervals between them, or. at least, that these holes may termi-
nate in a common duct, through which the water is transmitted out.
Another circumstance peculiar to these fishes is the presence of little
cartilaginous arches, frequently suspended in the muscles opposite to
the external edges of the branchiae, and which may be termed
branchial ribs.

FAMILY I.

SELACHII,— PLAGIOSTOiMI, Dumer.

This family, hitherto comprised under two genera. Squalus and
Raia, has many common characters. The palatines and post-man -
dibularies. alone armed with teeth, supply the place of jaws, the usual
bones of which are reduced to mere vestiges; one single bone
suspends these apparent jaws to the cranium, representing at once
the tympanal, jugal and temporal bones, and the prcoperculum.
The hyoid bone is attached to the single pedicle just mentioned, and
supports branchiostegal rays, as in ordinary fishes, although they are
not so very visible, externally; it is followed by the branchial arches,
as usual, but neither of the three pieces compose the operculum,

VOL. II. R

242 FISHES.

These fishes have both pectorals and ventrals : the latter are situated
behind the abdomen, and on each side of the anus. Their membra-
nous labyrinth is enclosed by the cartilaginous substance of the cra-
nium; the sac, which constitutes part of it, contains mere amylaceous
masses, and no stones. The pancreas resembles a conglomerated
gland, and is not divided into distinct tubes or caeca. The intestinal
canal is short in proportion, but a portion of it is provided internally
with a spiral lamina, which prolongs the delay of the ailments.

Fecundation is performed by a real intromission of semen ; the
females have highly organized oviducts, which supply the place of a
matrix in those whose young are hatched within their body ; the
others produce ova, invested with a hard or horny shell, to the
formation of which a large gland that surrounds each oviduct
contributes. The males are recognised by certain appendages,
situated on the internal edge of the ventrals, which are very large,
and highly complicated, and whose use is not well understood.

Squalus*, Lin.

The Sharks form a first great genus distinguished by an elongated
body, a thick fleshy tail and moderate pectorals, so that the general
figure approaches that of ordinary fishes ; the branchial openings
correspond with the sides of the neck, and not with the under surface
of the body as we shall see is the case with the Rays ; the eyes also
are on the sides of the head. The snout is supported by three car-
tilaginous branches connected with the anterior part of the cranium,
and the rudiments of the maxillaries, intermaxillaries, and preman-
dibularies are evident in the skeleton.

The shoulder bones are suspended in the fleshy part behind the
branchiae Avithout articulating either with the cranium or spine.
Several are viviparous. The others produce ova invested with a
yellow and transparent horn, the angles of which are prolonged into
horny cords. The little branchial ribs are apparent, and there are
also small ones along the sides of the spine, which is completely
divided into vertebree. The genus is very numerous and authorizes
various subdivisions! . We first separate the

ScylliumJ, Cuv.

Distinguished from other Squali by the short and obtuse snout, and
by the nostrils opening near the mouth, continued in a groove extending
to the edge of the lip, and more or less closed by one or two cutaneous

* Squalus, the Latin name of a fish, employed by some authors ; the species,
however, i3 unknown. Artedi applied it to this genus. We also find Squalus for
Squatina.

f The flesh of this genus is generally of a leathery texture, and is used as food
only by the neediest.

X Scyllium, one of the Greek names of this fish.

FIXED-GILLED CHONDROPTERYGIANS. 243

lobules. The teeth have a point in the middle, and two smaller ones
on the sides. There are spiracles and an anal fin ; the dorsals are
placed very far back, the first never being further forward than the
ventrals ; the caudai is elongated, not forked and truncated ; the
branchial apertures are partly under the pectorals,

In some of them the anal corresponds to the interval between the
two dorsals : such are the two species of the coast of Europe that are
frequently confounded, or at least very indifferently distinguished, the
Sq, canicvla, L. ; La Grande Roussette ; Bl., 114; Rondel,,
380; Lacep. I, x, 1. Numerous smalls spots; the ventrals ob-
liquely truncated.

Sq. catulus, and stellaris, L. ; La Rockier ; Rondel., 383 ;
Lacep., I, ix, 2. Fewer but largers spots sometimes ocellated ;
ventrals cut square.

A third species from the same locality is marked with black

and white spots.*

In others, all of them foreign to Europe, the anal is attached behind

the second dorsal, the spiracles are singularly small, the fifth branchial

opening is frequently concealed in the fourth, and nasal lobules are

usually prolonged into cirri, f Under the name of

Squalus, properly so termed,

We include all the species with a prominent snout, under which
are placed nostrils neither prolonged in a furrow nor furnished with
lobules ; there is a lobule on the under part of the caudal which
approximates it more or less to the bifurcated form. The old arrange-
ment may be preserved which is founded on the presence or absence
of the spiracles and anal; in order to make it a natural one, howeA^er,
we must increase the number of its divisions.

Species without spiracles, provided with an anal.

Carcharias J, Cuv.

A numerous and by far the most celebrated tribe : with trenchant,
pointed teeth, most commonly dentated on the margin. The first
dorsal is far before the ventrals, and the second about opposite to the

* Add the Roussette of Artedi, Risso, Ed. II, f. 5, or Squalus prionurus, Otto. ;
— the Roussette of Gunner (Squalus catulus, Gunri.), M£m. Soc. Dronth., II, pi. i,
which appears to be a peculiar species ; — the Sq. Edwardsii (Edw., 289), under
the erroneous name of the Greater Cat-fish, which would indicate the Roussette, and
which is improperly quoted as the pretended Sq. stellaris ; — the Sq. africanus,
or gallonni, of Broussonnet (Sta., Nat. Misc. 3-16). N.B. That the term longitudi-
nalibus, gratuitously added by Gmelin, is not correct ; — the pretended Sq. canicula,
Bl., 1 12, which is a distinct foreign species, unless it be a very uncommon variety
of the Catulus.

t The Sq. poinfille, Lacep., II, iv, 3, the same as the Sq. barbillon, Brouss.,
(Sq. barbatus, Gm.), and as the Sq. punctatus, !-'chn., Parra., pi. 34, f. 2 ; — the
(Sq. tiyre, Lac, or Sq. fasciatus, Bl., 113 (S. tirjrinus and S. longicaudus, Gm.) ; —
the S. lobatus, Schn., Phil. Voy. pi. 43, p. 285 ; — the Bokee sorra, Russ., Coroin.,
XVI.

X Carcharias, the Greek name of some large Squalus, synonymous with Lamia.

r2

244 FISHES.

the anal. The spiracles are wanting ; the nostrils are placed under
the middle of the depressed snout, and the last branchial apertures
extend over the pectorals.

Sq. carcharias, L. ; Belon, 60.* (The White Shark.) This
species attains the length of twenty-five feet, and is recognized
by its teeth, which in the upper jaw nearly form isosceles tri-
angles with rectilinear and dentated sides. The lower ones con-
sist of narrow points placed on wider basis, terrific weapons,
which are the dread of mariners. It would appear that it inha-
bits every sea, but its name has frequently been applied to other
species with trenchant teeth.

Sq. vulpes, L. ; Rondel., 387. (The Fox Shark.) Teeth form-
ing pointed isosceles triangles in each jaw, and particularly dis-
tinguished by the upper lobe of the tail, which is as long as the
entire body. The second dorsal and anal, on the contrary, are
extremely small, f

Sq. glaums, L.; Bl.,86. (The Blue Shark.) Body slender,
of a slate-blue above ; pectorals very long and pointed ; upper
teeth forming curvilinear triangles bent outwards : the lower
ones straighter, all of them dentated. \ The

Lamna, Cuv., §

Only differs from a true Squalus in the pyramidal snout, under the
base of which the nostrils are placed, and in the locality of the bran-
chial openings which are before the pectorals. The species that inha-
bits the seas of Europe.

Sq. cornubicus, Schn.; Lacep., I, ii, 3||. (The Porbeagle Shark),
has a projecting carina on each side of the tail, and the lobes of
its caudal are almost equal. Its size has often caused it to be
confounded with the White Shark. H

* N.B. This figure of Belon is the only good one. Most of the others are incor-
rect. Bl., 1 19, is a very different species, which appears more allied to Scymnus ; —
Gunner, Mem. of Dronth., II, pi. x. and xi, the same described by Fabr., Groenl.,
127, is another species also allied to Scymnus ; — Rondel., 390, copied Aldrov., 383,
is the comubicus, as well as Aldrov., 388, where the anal in torn away and the
jaws. Id., 3S2 ; — I will not name the monstrous figure of Gesner, 173, copied
Will., B. 7 ; — Larep., I, viii, 1, is the Sq. ustus.

f It is on this last character that the genus Alopias, Raf., is founded.

X Add; Sq. ustus. Dura. (Sq. carcharia minor, Forsk.,) Lac, I, viii, 1 ; Reqidn &
nayeuires noires. Q.uoy and Gaym., Zool. de Freycin. pi. 43. f. 1 ; — Sq. glauque, Lac,
I, ix, 1, which differs from that of Bl. ; — Sq. ciliaris, Schn., pi. 31, the cilia of
which only denotes its extreme juvenility. The Palasorrah and the Sorrakowah, Russ.,
XIV. and XV, and a large number of new ones to be described in our Icthyology.

§ Lamna, one of the Greek names of the lamia, which particular word I am pre-
vented from using, as Fabricius lias applied it to a genus of insects.

|| The lamia, Rondelet, 399, the carcharias, Aldrov., 383 and 388, are nothing
more than the cornubicus, which attains a very large size, notwithstanding what Bl.,
Schn., p. 132, says to the contrary. The pretended jaws of the carcharias, given by
Aldrov., 382, are also those of the cornubicus. It appears to be more common in
the Mediterranean than the true Squalus.

^f Add Sq. monensis, Sh., which has a shorter snout and sharper teeth ; — Isurus
oxyrhynchus, Rafin, Caratt., XIII, 1, is very possibly a species of this genus, per-
haps the common one disfigured by the stuffer.

F1XED-GILLED CHONDROPTERYGIANS 245

Species with spiracles and an anal.
Galeus *, Cue.

The general form of the Sharks, but differing in the presence of
spiracles. But a single species is known that inhabits the seas of
Europe. It is the Sq. galeus, L.; Bl, 118. Duham., Sect. IX, pi. xx, f. 1
and 2. f The

MUSTELUS \, CllV.

Resembles the Squali and Galei in form, but in addition to the
presence of spiracles as in the latter, the teeth are like small paving
stones.

The two species are taken in the seas of Europe, which are
confounded under the name of Sq. mustelus, L. § The

NoTIDANUS ||, CllV.

Only differs from Galeus in the absence of the first dorsal.

Sq. griseus, L. ; Sq. vacca, Schn. ; Augustin Scilla, pi. xvii ;
Le Griset 9 ^. Ash-coloured above, whitish beneath, and very
remarkable for its six wide branchial openings, and for its teeth
which are triangular above and serrated below ; the snout is
depressed and rounded like that of the shark.

Sq. cinereus, Gm. Seven very wide branchial openings ; teeth
similar to the lower ones of the Griseus; snout pointed like that
of the cornubicus**. Both these species inhabit the Mediter-
ranean f f . The

SelacheJ|, Cuv.

In addition to the form of the Squali, and the spiracles of the Galei,
is furnished with branchial openings that are nearly large enough to
encircle the neck, and with small conical and unem irginate teeth.

The common species, Sq. maximus, L. ; Blainv., Ann. du

* Galeus, the generic name in Greek, of the Squali.

t It is also the lamiola, Rondel., 377, cop. Aldrov., 393 and 393, Salv., 130, I,
cop. Will., B, 6. The enormous size sometimes attributed to it, is owing to the
fact that the teeth and jaws, represented Lacep., I, vii, 2, and Htrissant, Ac. des
Sc, 1794, have been referred to it — they belong, however, to a foreign species,
which will be described in our Icthyology.

X Mustelus, the Latin translation of yaleos, a generic name for the Squali.
N.B. M. Rafin. unites Scyllium Galeus and Mustelus, in his genus Galeus.

§ The Emissole commune, Rondel., 375, Salv., 136, f. 2, cop. Will., pi. B, 5, f. 1,
and improperly cited as the galeus.

The Emissole tachetee de blanc, or len/illaf — Rondel., 376, Bel., 71, cop. Aldrov.,
393.

|| Noiidanus (Dry back), the Athenian name of some Squalus.

^| The teeth are well figured, but the fish itself very badly. It is the genus
Hexanchus, Rafin.

** It is the genus Heptranchias, Rafin., who erroneously states that it has no
spiracles.

■ft Messrs. Quoy and Gaym.have discovered, in the Indian Ocean a species of this
subgenus which is all spotted with black, and has seven spiracles.

XX Selache, a Greek name common to all the cartilaginous fishes.

246 FISHES.

Mus. torn. XVIII, pi. vi, f. 1, (The Basking Shark) has nothing
of the ferocity of the Shark, although it surpasses it in size as
well as all other squali. Individuals have been captured that
were more than thirty feet in length. It inhabits the Arctic
seas, but is sometimes driven on the coast of France by the
strength of the north-east winds *.

Cestracion, Cuv.

The spiracles, anal, and teeth like paving stones of the Musteli,
with a spine before each dorsal as in Spin ax ; the pointed jaws pro-
jecting as much as the snout, with small pointed teeth in the middle,
and very broad rhomboidal ones towards the angles, the ensemble of
which resembles certain spiral shells.

But a single species is known, the Sq. Philippi, Schn., Phil..
Voy. pi. 283, and the teeth : Davila, Cat., I, xxii.

Species without an anal but furnished loith spiracles.
Spinax, Cuv.

These, with Galeus and Mustelus, join with all the characters
of a Careharias, the addition of spiracles, and are distinguished besides
by the want of an anal, by several rows of small trenchant teeth, and
by a strong spine before each dorsal.

Sq. acanthias, L.; Bl.,85. (The Picked Dog-Fish). Brown
above ; whitish beneath. The young, Edw., 288f, are spotted
with white.

CentrinaJ, Cuv.

These fishes unite with spines, spiracles, and the deficiency of the
anal as in Spinax, the position of the second dorsal over the ventrals
and the shortness of the tail, give it a more clumsy appearance than is
presented by any other species. The lower teeth are trenchant and
placed in one or two rows ; the upper ones are slender, pointed, and
arranged in several rows. The skin is rough.

The species most common on the coast of France is the Sq.
centrina,Ij.; Bl. 115.

* See the anatomy of this fish by M. de Blainville, loc. cit. N.B. The differences
observed between the figures and descriptions of Gunner, Dronth., Ill, ii, 1. of
Pennant, Brit. Zool., No. 44, of Home, Phil. Trans., 1809, and of Shaw, Gen.
Zool. may be owing to the difficulty that attends all attempts to observe such large
fishes, and may not be sufficient to establish species. Nor can I see in what
particulars the squalus elephas, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad., differs from this
maximus.

-f- Add the Sagre, Brouss., (Sq. spinax, h.,J Gunner, Dronth., Mem., II, pi. vii; —
the Aiguillat Blainville, Risso, Ed. II, f. 6. N.B. The Squalus uyatus, Rafin.,
Caratt., pi. xiv, f. 2, does not differ from a Spinax, and is probably the Squalus
spinax, L. His Dalatias nochirnus, lb., f. 3, is a Spinax whose spiracles escaped
his observation. His Etmoptekus aculeatvs, also, appears to me a Spinax drawn
from a dried specimen. This author give it three branchial orifices, but he only
allows the same number to the Squat angelus, which most certainly has five.

% Kentrine, the Greek name of thisfish, from Kentron, sting. It is the Oxynotus
of Rafin.

FIXED-GILLED CH0NDR0PTERYGIANS. 247

ScYMNUS* CUV.

All the characters of the preceding - fishes except the doral spines.
They also are found on the coast of France.

The Leiche or Liche, Brouss., called, through a mistake, Sq.
americanusf.

A species inhabits the Arctic seas which is said to be as
ferocious and terrible as the White Shark};, and the Indian
Ocean produces another, remarkable for the smallness of its
first dorsal §.

A third, the Sq. ecailleux, Brouss. ; Sq. sqitamosus, Lacep., I,

x, 3, under the false name of Sq. liche, is remarkable for the

small raised and crowded scales resembling leaves, that cover

its entire skin. Its snout is long and depressed.

We distinguish those species whose first dorsal is over the ventrals,

and the second further back.

Pne of these is completely covered with small spines, the
Squale boucle, Lacep., I, iii, 2; Squalus spinosus, BL, Schn.
A second genus may be formed of the

Zygcena, Cuv. — Sphyrna, Raf.

Which to the characters of the Shark, add a form of head of which
there is no other example in the animal kingdom. It is horizontally
flattened and truncated before, the sides extending transversely in
branches, which give it a resemblance to the head of a hammer; the
eyes are placed at the extremity of the branches, and the nostrils on
their anterior edge.

The most common species of the European seas, Sq. zygcena t
L. ; Z. malleus, Valenciennes, Mem. Mus., IX, xi, 1 ; Parra, 32;
Salv., 40 ; Will., B., 1, is sometimes twelve feet long ||.

* Scymnus, the Greek name of a Scyllium.

+• Because Ginelin has confounded Cape Breton near Bayonne, with another Cape
of the same name near Newfoundland. The Sq. niceen, Risso, Ed. T, f. 6, is a bad
drawing of the same fish ; in Ed. II, f. 4, it is somewhat better. The Dalatias
sparophagus, Raf., Car., XIII, 2, must also belong to this genus.

X It is the pretended Sq. carcharias, of Gunner, Dronth., II, x and xi, and of
Fab., Groen., 127, and perhaps also that of BL, 119, although he gives it an anal,
This is probably the place for the Sq. brevipinnis, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad.
I, 122, which forms the gemis Somniosus of that author, who does not, however,
describe the teeth.

§ Leiche Laborde, Quoy and Gayni., Zool., Freycin. pi. 44, f. 2.

|| Add the species represented by BL, 117, known by its nostrils, which are
placed much nearer the middle (Z. Bluchii, Nob.), VaL, Mem. Mus. IX, xi, 2. Its
second dorsal is also much nearer the caudal : — the broad-headed species under the
name oi pantouflier, Lacep., I, vii, 3. It is the pantouflier of Risso Zyy. tudes, VaL,
Mem. Mus. IX, xii, 1, Koma sorra, Russel, XII, 2 : — The true pantouflier (Sq. tiburo,
L., and VaL, loc. cit. XII, 2), Marcgr., 181, known by its heart-shaped head. N.B.
The tail of Bloch's figure is twisted, whence the error of Schn., p. 131 — Cauda
inferiore lobo longiore.

248 FISHES.

Squatina*, Dumer.

The Angels have Spiracles, but no anal, as in the third division of
the Squali, but differing from all of them in the mouth, which is cleft
at the end of the snout and not beneath, and in the eyes, which are
placed on its dorsal surface and not on the sides. The head is round,
the body broad and horizontally flattened, the pectoral large and
extending forwards, but separated from the body by a fissure where
the branchial orifices are pierced; the two dorsals are behind the
ventrals, and the caudal is equally attached both above and beneath.
The

Squat, angel us ; Squaltts squatina, L. : Bl., 116f (The Angel-
Fish), attains a considerable size in the European seas. Its skin
is rough, and the edges of the pectorals are furnished with small
spines, (a)

Pristis \, Lath.

The Saw-fishes form a fourth genus. To the elongated form of the
Squali it unites a body flattened before and branchiae opening below,
as in the Rays ; but its peculiar character consists in a very long
depressed snout resembling the blade of a sword, armed on each side
with stout, bony, trenchant and pointed spines, planted like teeth.
This beak, from which these fishes derive their name, is a most
powerful weapon, and with it they attack the largest Whales. The
true teeth of their jaws resemble small paving stones, like those of a
Mustelus.

The common species, Pristis antiquorum, Lath. ; Squal. pristis,
L. The Saw-fish attains a length of twelve or fifteen feet.

Raia %, Lin.

The Rays forms a less numerous genus than the Squali. They are
recognised by the horizontally flattened body which resembles a
disk, from its union with the extremely broad and fleshy pectorals
which are joined to each other before or to the snout, and which
extend behind the two sides of the abdomen as far as the base of the
ventrals. The scapulae of these pectorals are articulated with the
spine behind the branchiae. The eyes and spiracles are seated on
the dorsal surface, the mouth, nostrils, and orifices of the branchiae on

* Rine, in Greek, Squatina and Squatus in Latin : the ancient names of this
fish still used in Greece and Italy.

+ Add Squat, aruleata, Dum£r., of the Mediterranean, which has a row of strong
spines along the back; — Squat. Dumerilii, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc.Philad., I, x, with
a granulated skin, &c.

X Pristis, (a saw) the Greek name of this fish. Species : Pristis antiquorum ; —
Pi: pectinatus ; — Pr. cuspidatus ; — Pr. microdot) ; — Prist, cirrhatus. See Lath.,
Trans, of the Lin. Soc. vol. II, p. 2S2, pi. 26 and 27 ; — Pristis semi-cagittafvs,
Shaw., Russel, I, 13.

§ Raia, in Latin, Batis and Bafos, in Greek, are the ancient names of these
fishes.

r^ (a) The Romans used this skin for polishing wood and ivory, as Pliny states ;
and it is till used as shagreen — Eng. Ed.

EIXED-GILLED CHONDROPTEHYGIANS. 249

the opposite one. The dorsal fins are almost always on the tail. The
ova are brown, coriaceous, and square, the angles extended into
points. We subdivide the genus as follows :

Rhinobatus*, Sch?/,

The Rhinobati connect the Rays with the Squali by their thick
fleshy tail, furnished with two very distinct dorsals and a caudal ;
the romboid formed by their snout and their pectorals is acute in front
and narrower in proportion than in ordinary Rays. Independently
of this they have all the characters of the latter genus ; their teeth
are crowded and planted in a quincunx order like small flat paving-
stones.

Some of them still have the first dorsal on the ventrals f .
In others it is much further back.

Such are the Mediterranean species, R. rhinobatus, L. ;
Will., D, 5, f. 1 ; and that of Brazil, R. ehctricus, Schn., Marcgr.
152, which has been said to participate in the properties of the
Torpedo; this, however, has not been proved.

There is another species, Rh. granidatus, the skin of which is
granulated \. The

Rhina, Schn.

Only differ from the Rhinobat in a short, broad, and rounded
snout §.

Torpedo ||, Dum.

The Torpedos have the tail short, but still tolerably fleshy ; disk of
the body nearly circular, .the anterior border being formed by two
productions of the snout which incline side-wise in order to reach the
pectorals ; the space between these pectorals, head and branchiae is
filled on each side with a singular apparatus formed of little mem-
branous tubes placed close together like a honeycomb, subdivided by
horizontal diaphragms into small cells filled with a sort of mucus, and
traversed by numerous nerves proceeding from the eighth pair. It
is in this apparatus that resides the electric or galvanic power which
has rendered the Torpedo so celebrated; violent shocks are expe-
rienced by touching it, and it is most probable that the same power is

* Rinobatos, which Gaza translates by Squatino-raia, is the Greek name of these
fishes, which were considered by the ancients as produced from the union of the Ray
with the Squatina.

f Rhin. lavis, Schn. 77, Russel, 10, and Rh. Djiihleyisis, Forsk., IS, which probably
form but one species. It is to it must be referred the fig. of the Rhinobate, Lacep.,
V, vi, 3, and that of Duhamel, part II, Sect. IX, pi. xv.

X N.B. The 7?. thouin, Lacep., 1, 1, 3, is a variety of the common Rhinobatus.
The Rata halavi, Forsk., also appears to be the same. Add the Suttirara, Russ., XI.

§ Rhina anrylostomus, Bl., Schn., 72, to which the editor improperly adds the
Raie chinoise, Lacep., I, ii, 2, which, as well as can be determined from a Chinese
figure, rather approaches the Torpedo.

|| Torpedo, narke, ancient names of these fishes, derived from their benumbing
faculty.

250 FISHES.

employed to bewilder its prey. The body is smooth, the teeth small
and sharp.

Several species are found in the seas of Europe confounded
by Linnaeus and most of his successors under the name of Raia
torpedo *.

T. narke, n\ss. ; BL, 122; Rondel, 258 and 362. (The
Ocellated Torpedo). Number of spots varying from five to one;
no fleshy indentations on the edges of the spiracles.

T. galvanii, Riss. ; Rondel. 363, 1. (The Galvanic Torpedo).
Seven fleshy indentations round the spiracles ; sometimes of a
uniform fawn colour, and sometimes marbled, dotted, or spotted
with blackish.

Several others are found in foreign seas f .
Raia, Cuv.

The rays, properly so called, have a rhomboidal disk, a thin tail,
furnished above and near its point with two small dorsals, and some-
times with the vestige of a caudal ; small, slender, and crowded teeth
in quincunx order in the jaws. Many species inhabit the seas of
Europe which arc not yet well determined. Their flesh, though hard,
is eaten.

R. clavata, L. ; the male, Bl., 84, under the name of rubus, the
female. (The Thornback.) Distinguished by its roughness and
the thick, oval, bony tubercles, each of which is furnished with
a recurved spine, that are irregularly scattered over its two
surfaces. Their number varies greatly.

R. rubus, L. ; Lacep., I. v (The Rough Ray), differs from
the Thornback in the absence of the tubercles. The male of
both species, however, has hooked spines on the front and angle
of the wings, their posterior edge being similarly furnished in
the female. The appendages of the male are very long and
complex^.

R. batis, L. ; R. oxyrhinchus major, Rondel., 348. (The
Skate, or white, or ash-coloured Ray.) Superior surface of the
body rough, but spineless, with a single row of spines on the tail.
It is the largest of all the species, and is sometimes found to

* The Torpille imlgaire a cinq taches. Torpedo narke, Riss., Rondel., 358 and 362.

Torpedo unimaculata, Riss., pi. iii, f. 3.

T. marmorata, Id., lb., f. 4, Rondel., 362.

T. galvanii, Id., lb., f. 5, Rondel., 363, f. 1.

•f Temerec, Russel, I ; — Nallatemeree, Id., 2 ; — the Raie chinoise, Lacep., I, ii, 2.
Both of them being the Raia timlei, BL, Schn., 359.

X N. B. The R. batis, Penn. Brit. Zool., No. 30, is nothing more than this
rubus, Lacep. The rubtts, Bl., 84, which is the R. clavata, Will., is, if not a species,
at least a variety remarkable for the tubercles that are scattered over both surfaces.
There is also a variety, R. oculata aspera, Rondel., 351, marked with an ocellated
spot on each wing.

FIXED-GILLED CH0NDR0PTEBYGUNS. 251

weigh upwards of two hundred pounds. It is spotted when
young, assuming a more uniform and a paler tint with age*.

In some species of Rays, individuals have been observed with
a recurved membrane on the middle of the disk, resembling
a fin. Such, in the R. aspera, is the Raie Cuvier, Lacep., I, vii, 1.
I have seen the same in a R. batis. The

Trygon, Adans\.

Is recognised by the tail armed with a spine notched on both sides,
and the small, slender, and crowded teeth arranged in quincunx order.
The head, like that of the common Ray, is enveloped by the pectorals,
which generally form a very obtuse disk.

The tail of some is slender and barely furnished with a fold in the
form of a fin ; of this number some have a smooth back. Such is

R. pastinaca, L. ; Bl., 82. (The Sting Ray). Disk, round and
smooth ; inhabits European seas, where its spine is considered
venomous, on account of the dangerous nature of the wounds
inflicted by its serrated edgesj.

The back of others is more or less spinous §, or tuberculated ||.

Some again have a wide membrane on the under surface of
the tail, and the species, R. Sephen., Forsk.^J, whose back,
crowded with osseous tubercles, furnishes us with shagreen, is
of this number. The rounded body of one of them is even co-
vered with small spines, and the tail with tubercles like those on
the R. clavata, — R. Ges?ieri**, Cuv. Several, however, have a
smooth backj-f.

* Add the R. undulata, Lacep., IV, xiv, 2, which differ but little, or not at all,
from the mosa'ique, Id., lb., XVI, 2; — the R. chardon (R. fullonica, L.), Rondel.,
356, figured under the name of oxyrhinchus, Bl., 80, and Lacep., I, vi, 1. ; — the R.
ruduta, Laroche, An. Mus., XIII, 321. is closely allied to it. — The R. lentillat (R.
oxyrhinchus), Rondel., 347, of which the Raie bordee, Lacep., V, xx, 2, or the R.
rostellata, Risso, pi. 1, and 2, Leeviraia, Salv., 142, is also a closely allied species ; —
R. asterias, Rondel., 350, and Laroche, An. Mus. XIII, pi. xx, f. 1. ; R. miraletus,
Rondel., 349 ; — R. aspera, Rond., 356.

Observe that no reliance whatever is to be placed upon the synonymes given by
Artedi, Linnaeus, and Bloch, as they are in a state of complete confusion, a circum-
stance principally owing to the fact of their employing, as a chief character, the
number of rows of spines on the tail, which varies both with the age and sex, and
cannot serve to distinguish the species. That of sharp or blunt teeth is likewise
exceedingly doubtful in its application.

f Pastinaca Truyon, or Turtur, ancient names of these fishes.

X Add Tenkbe Shindraki, Russ., I, 5.

§ The Raie tubercuUe, Lacep., I, iv, 1, in which the engraver has omitted the
caudal spine ; — Raia Sabina, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil.

|| Isakurrah-Tenkee, Russ., I, 4.

«H Add Wolga-TenMe, Russ., I, 3.

** They only had the figure of the tail, Gesner, 77.

•f-f- R. lymna, Forsk., p. 17- It is at least a very closely allied species which is
figured, but without a spine, under the name of torpille, Lacep., I, vi, 1, and perhaps
it is also the P. yrabatus, Geoff., Eg. Poiss., Bl., XXV, i, 1. N. B. The lymne,
Lacep., I, iv, 2 and 3. is merely a common Trygon ; — R. jama'icensis, Cuv., Sloane's
Jam., pi. 246, f. 1.

In some again the slightly elongated and thick tail is termi-
nated by a fin*.

Finally, in others the extent of the wings renders the body
very broad and the tail very short f . The

Anacanthus, Ehrenb.

Resembles a Trygon, but the long and slender tail has neither fin
nor spine. There is a sjDecies in the Red Sea whose back is furnished
with a coarser shagreen than that of the Sephen, and with stellated
granules \.

Myliobatis §, Dumer.

Have the head projecting beyond the pectorals, which are larger
transversely than in other Rays, giving them somewhat the appear-
ance of a bird of prey with outstretched wings, which has caused
them to be compared to the Eagle. The jaws are furnished with
broad flat teeth, placed like flags in a pavement, and differing in size
according to the species: their extremely long and slender tail termi-
nates in a point and is armed, like that of a Trygon, with a strong
spine notched on both sides, supporting near its base and before the
spine, a small dorsal. Sometimes there are two or more spines ||.

The snout of some projects in a parabola. Such as

R. aquila, L. ; Aigle tie mer ; M our hie ; Ratepenade ; Bccuf;
Pesce ratto, &c. ; Duham., part II, Sect IX. pi. x. ; and the
teeth, Juss. Ac. des. Sc, 1721, pi. l/^. (The SeaEagle.) The
middle plates of its jaw are much wider than they are long, and
placed in a single row ; the lateral ones, which are regular hexa-
gons, in three rows**. It attains a large size, and is found in the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

In others, the Rhinoptera, Kuhl, the snout is divided into two
short lobes, under which are two similar ones ff.

* The Raie croisie, Lacep., Ann. Mus., IV, lv, 2.

•f* P. kunsua, Cuv., Tenhee kunsu, Russel, I, 6. ; — R. Madura, Lesueur, Ac. Nat.
Sc. Phil., or micrara, Bl., Schn., 360.

J The Aiereba, Marcgr., 175 (Raia orbicularis, Bl., Schn.), belongs, perhaps, to
this division.

§ MuHobatos, from mule (grindstone), referring to the form of the teeth.

|| See the tail with five spines, Voy. de Freycin., Zool. 42, f. 3.

f N. B. The fig. of Bloch, 81, is not that of the aquila, but of a Trygon with a fin
placed before the spine.

** Add: Myl. bovina, Geoff., Eg. Poiss., pi. xxvi, f. 1 . ;— R. narinari, L., Marcgr.,
75, and under the name of aigle, Lacep., I, vi, 2, and the teeth, Phil. Trans., Vol.
XIX, No. 283, p. 673. Eel tenkee, Russ., I, 8, found in both hemispheres;—
R. flagellum, Sclm., 73. His R. nieuhowii, Will. App., X, Mookarrah tenkee, Russ.,
VII, perhaps only differs from it in the loss of the spine. The teeth are like those
of the aquila ; — R. Jussieui, Cuv., has the middle teeth broader than they are long,
and in three rows. Jus. Ac. des Sc, 1721, pi. iv, f. 12.

tt Myliobatis marginata, Geoff., Eg., Poiss., pi. xxv, f. 2.; — Raia quadrilobo,
Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil.

FIXED-GILLED CHONDfcOPTERYGIANS. 256

Cephaloptera, Dum*.

Have the tail slender; the spine, small dorsal, and the pectorals
broad, as in Myliobatis; but the teeth are still more tenuous than
those of a Trygon and finely serrated. The anterior part of the head
is truncated, and the pectorals, instead of clasping it, have each of
their anterior extremities extended into a salient point, which gives
the fish the appearance of having horns.

A gigantic species is occasionally captured in the Mediterra-
nean, the Raia cephaloptera, Schn.; Raie giorna, Lacep. V.xx, 3,f
with a black back bordered with violet.

FAMILY II.

The Chondropterygians of the second family are
SUCTORII.— CYCLOSTOMI, Burner.

The Suckers, which, as regards the skeleton, are the most imperfect
of fishes, and even of all vertebrate animals. They have neither pec-
torals nor ventrals : their elongated body is terminated before by a
circular or semicircular fleshy lip, and the cartilaginous ring which
supports it results from the soldering of the palatines to the mandibu-
laries. The bodies of all the vertebrae are traversed by a single tendi-
nous cord filled with a mucilaginous substance without strangulations,
which reduces them to the condition of cartilaginous rings, scarcely
distinct from each other. The annular portion, a little more solid than
the rest, is not, however, cartilaginous throughout the whole of its cir-
cle. Thev have no ordinary ribs; but the small branchial ones, which
are hardly perceptible in the Squali and Rays, are here greatly deve-
loped and united with each other, forming a kind of cage ; while there
are no solid branchial arches. The branchiae, instead of being pecti-
nated as in all other fishes, resemble purses, resulting from the junction
of one face of a branchiae with the opposing one of its neighbour.
The labyrinth of the ear is enclosed by the cranium, and the nostrils
open externally by a single orifice, in front of which is a blind
cavity J. The intestinal cenal is straight and thin, with a spiral valve.

* Cephaloptera, winged head, from the projection of the pectorals.

f The Raie fabroniemie, Lacep., II, v, 1, 2, is most probably a mutilated isdi\'£-
dual of the giorna, but the R. giorna, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. appears todiffer
from that of the Mediterranean, and may rather be the Mobular, Duharn., second
part, Sect. IX, pi. 17. As to the R. banksienne, Lacep.. II, v, 3. ; — Manatia, Id.,
I, vii, 2. ; — Diabolus marinus, Will., App. IX, 3 ; they unfortunately rest on no
authentic foundation. Add the Cephaloptera massena, Riss., p. 15 ; — Eregoodootenkee,
Russ., I, 9.

X Improperly styled a spiracle. With respect to this family in general, see Dumeril,
Diss, sur les Poiss. Cyclostomes.

254 FISHES.

Petromyzon,* Lin.

The Lampreys have seven branchial openings on each side ; the skin
of the tail above and beneath is turned up into a longitudinal crest
which supplies the place of a fin, but in which the rays resemble
scarcely visible fibres.

Petromyzon, Dumer.

The maxillary ring of the True Lamprey is armed with strong
teeth, and the interior disk of the lip, which is very circular, is fur-
nished with tubercles covered with an extremely hard shell, and simi-
lar to teeth. This ring is suspended under a transverse plate which
appears to supply the want of intermaxillaries, and on the sides of
which vestiges of maxillaries may be observed. There are two lon-
gitudinal rows of small teeth on the tongue, which moves backwards
and forwards like a piston ; by this, that suction is produced which
distinguishes the animal. Water reaches the branchiae from the
mouth by a particular membranous canal, placed under the cesophagus
and perforated with holes, that may be compared to a trachea. There
is a dorsal before the anus and another behind it, which unites with
that of the tail. These fishes habitually fix themselves by suction to
stones and other solid bodies; they attack the largest fishes in the
same way, and are finally able to pierce and devour them.

P. marinus, L. ; Bl., 77 ; the teeth better in Lacep. I, i, 2. (The
Greater or Sea Lamprey.) Two or three feet in length, mar-
bled with brown on a yellowish ground ; first dorsal very distinct
from the second ; two large approximated teeth on the upper
part of the maxillary ring. It ascends the mouths of rivers in
the spring, and is highly esteemed.

P. fluvialis, L, ; Pricka; Sept-Oeil, &c. ; BL, 78, 1. (The
Lesser or River-Lamprey.) From a foot to eighteen inches in
length ; silvery, blackish and olive on the back ; first dorsal very
distinct from the second ; two large separated teeth on the max-
illary ring. Inhabits rivers, &c.

P. planeri, Bl. ; Sucet, &c. ; Gesner, 705. (Small River Lam-
prey.) From eight to ten inches long ; teeth and colours of the
fluvialis ; the two dorsal contiguous or imited. Rivers, &c.(|)

Myxine, Lin.
But a single tooth on the upper part of the maxillary ring, which is

* Lamproye Lampreda, Lamprey, corruptions of Lampetra, which is itself modern,
and, according to some, derived from Lambendo, petras. Petromyzon is the Greek
translation of the same, by Artedi. It is somewhat singular that so much uncer-
tainty should envelope the ancient name of a fish so much esteemed, and so common
in the Mediterranean.

f N.B. The figure of the Planeri, Bl., 78, 3, is a young fluvialis. I also think
that the Petrom. sucet, Lacep., II, 1, 3; — sep>t-oeil, IV, xv, 1 ; — Noir, lb., 2, are mere
varieties of the planeri: but the fig. I, ii, 1, under the name of Lamproyon, Petrom.
branchialis, represents a peculiar species of this genus, and not an Ammocoetes. I
gee no difference between the Petrom. argenteus, BL, 415, 2, and the fluvialis.

FIXED-GILLED CHONDROPTKRYGIANS. 255

altogether membranous, lateral dentations of the tongue strong, and
arranged in two rows on each side, so that the jaws of these fishes
seem to be lateral like those of insects or the Nereides, which induced
Linnaeus to place them in the class of Vermes ; the rest of their
organization, however, is analogous to that of the lampreys :* the
tongue also acts like a piston, and the spine of the back is in the form
of a cord. The mouth is circular and surrounded with eight cirri; in
its upper margin is a sph'acle which communicates with its interior.
The body is cylindrical, and furnished behind with a fin that
surrounds the tail. The intestine is simple and straight, but wide
and plaited internally ; the liver bilobate. There are no vestiges of
eyes. The eggs become large. These singular animals pour out
such an abundance of mucus through the pores of their lateral line,
that the water of the vases in which they are kept seems to be con-
verted into a jelly. They attack and pierce other fishes like the lam-
preys.

They are subdivided according to the external orifices of their
branchiae. In

Heptatremus, Dumer.
There are still seven holes on each side, as in the lampreys.

But a single species is known, Gastrobranche domhey, Lacep.,
I, xxiii, 1; Petromyzon cirrhatus, Forster; Bl., Schn., p. 532;
from the South Seas.f

Gastrobranchus, Bl.

The intervals of the branchiae, instead of having separate issues,
communicate with a common canal on each side, each of which ter-
minates in a distinct hole situated under the heart, near the first third
of the whole length.

But a single species is known, My .vine ylutinosa, L. ; Gastro-
branchus c<ecus, BL, 413; the (Glutinous Hag.) From the Arctic
Ocean.

Ammoccetes, Dumer.

All the parts which should constitute the skeleton, so soft and
membranous that they are hardly entitled to the appellation of bone.
The general form of these fishes, and external orifices of the branchia?
are similar to those of the lampreys, but their fleshy lip is cemicir-
cular, and only covers the top of the mouth, consequently they
cannot attach themselves to bodies like a true lamprey. They have
no teeth, but the opening of their mouth is furnished with a row of
small branched cirri. They have no particular trachea, and their
branchiae are supplied with water from the oesophagus as usual.
Their dorsals are united with each other and with the caudal, form-
ing a low and sinuous fold. They inhabit the ooze of brooks, and

* See the Memoir of Abildgaart, Trans. Soc. Nat. Berlin, vol, X, p. 193.
f See the Memoir of SirEv. Home, PhiJ. Trans., 1815.

256 PISHES.

their habits are greatly like those of worms, which they otherwise

so strongly resemble.*

One of them is found in France, the Petrom branchialis, L. ;
Lamprillion, Civelle, &c. (the Common Pride.) From six to
eight inches long, and the size of a large quill ; it has been
accused of sucking the branchiae of fishes, possibly from having
confounded it with the Petrom planeri. It is used as bait.f«)

* See Omalius de Hallois, Journ. de Phys., May, 1808.

N.B. The Petrom. rouge, Lacep., II, i, 2, belongs to this genus, and perhaps does
not differ materially from the common species quoted.

0^=" (a) Some pains having been taken within the last few years to determine the
species of the class of fishes which frequent the coast of Cornwall, we feel that to
supply the results of this investigation, would be by no means useless or uninter-
esting. Great praise is due to Mr. Cornish of Polpero, for his long continued exer-
tions in this department. In this gentleman's description, he employs the classifi-
cation of Linnseus. We shall present the species furnished by Mr. Cornish, in the
manner in which he has arranged them, and also according to the classification of
Cuvier.

The fishes were divided by Linnaeus into four orders, the Apodes, Jusrulares, Thora-
cici, and Abdominales. The Cornish fishes are distributed by Mr. Covnish according
to this classification.

ORDER I.— Apodes.

Fishes with a smooth slippery skin, generally naked, or covered in some species
only with small soft scales which are distant from each other. Body slender, teeth
in the jaws, live mostly in the sea, but some are found in rivers and ponds.

Mv.rd.na Anguilla, the eel, found in rivers near the coast. The eel as has recently
been determined is oviparous, the only reason which previously led to the notion of
its being viviparous, was that a couple of parasitical worms were usually found in its
interior, which were mistaken for ,the offspring. This species belongs to the fourth
order of Malacopterygians, the Apodal Malacopterygians of Cuvier, which see.

Mur. Conger, the Conger Eel, found in rocky ground on the Cornish coast.

Xiphias Gladius, the Sword Fish, very frequent.

Ammodytes Tohianus. Mr. Cornish states that this is the Launce, but the Launce
evidently is the Leptocepholus.

ORDER II.— Jugulares.

Fishes with ventral fins, placed more forward than the pectoral fins, or under the
throat. These fishes belong to the order x\canthopterygians of Cuvier.

Caltionymus Lyra, the Dragon fish, or gemmeous Dragonet. Rare.

('. Dracunculus, the Skulpin.

Trachinvs Draco, the great Weever. The puncture of the dorsal fin of this fish i«
poisonous.

Gadus Oglejimts, the Haddock.

G. Morhua, the Cod-fish.

G. Luscus, the Bib.

G. Minutus, the Poor.

G. Molva, the Ling.

G. Mustella, the five bearded Cod, or more commonly called Rock Ling.

G. Merlangus, the Whiting.

G. Pollachius, the Pollack.

G. Carbonarius, the rauning l'ollach, or Conl fish. Raitning is a Cor.iish word for
ravering, this fish being exceedingly voracious.

G. Merlucius, the Hake ; this fish appears with Pilchards.

Blennhts Phohs, the Shanny.

FISHES. 267

B. Galexita, the crested Blanney.

B. Gunnelh's, the Butter Fish.

B. Pbycis, Greater Forked Beard, or Hake's Dame.

ORDER III.— Thoracici.

Fishes with the ventral tins at the hreast, or nearly under the pectorals. These
fishes belong to the Aeanthropterygii of Cuvier.

Cepola rubescens, red snake fish.

Gymnetrvs Hawkerii, the Ceil Conuin.

Qebius Aphya, the spotted Goby.

G. Nigra, the Rock fish.

Cottus gobio, the Bull-head.

Zevs Faber, the Doree.

Pleuronertes. hippoylossus, the Holibut.

P. Rhomboides, the Kite.

P. Punctutus, the Whiff. P. Rhombus, the Pearl. P. Megastoma, the Carter
or Lantern fish, or Marysole.

Ctuefodon, only one species.

Sparvs Smarts, the Bream. Mr. Cornish says that the young' of this species is the
Chad.

S. Pagrus, the Becker ; S. Vetida, the Old Wife.

8, Erythrinus, the Spanish Bream.

Labms Tinea, the common Wrasse.

L. Bimaculatus, the bimacnlated Wrasse.

L. Coquns, the Cook.

L. Gibbus, the Cork Wine.

L. Lascus, the Wrasse.

L. Luscus Suillus, the Hog Wrasse.

Percu channus, the Smooth Perch.

P. robusta, the Dusky Perch.

Scitena labrat, the Basse

Gasterosteus Duet or, the Pilot Fish. Two species only were 9een ; they accom-
panied an English ship from the Mediterranean to Falmouth.

Scomber, scomber, the Mackerel.

S. Trachurus, the Scad, S. Glaucus, the Albacore.

S. Maculatus, the Spanish mackerel.

Mullus surmullus, the striped Surmullet.

Trigla Lyra, the Piper.

T. Cucidus, the Elleck .

T. Gurnardvs, the Grey Gurnard.

ORDER IV.— Abdominals.

Fishes with ventral fins behind the pectoral ones, or on the abdomen: living chiefly
in fresh waters, belonging to the Abdominal Malacopterygians of Cuvier.

Sal mo salar, the commou Salmon.

S. Trutta, the Salmon Trout.

■S'. Salmulus, the Palmer, or Farthing Trout.

S. Fario, the Common Trout, or Shote.

Esox below, the Gar-pike.

E. Saurus, the Skipper.

E. Sphyrona, the Sea-pike.

Mugil eephalus, the grey Mullet.

Clupea, Herrings. Mr. Cornish states that the herrings are never absent from the
coast, except for a short interval in spring, and that therefore they do not descend
from the north.

C. Pilchardws, the Pilchard, constituting the object of the famous Cornwall
fishery.

C. Alosa, the Spad.

C. Sprattus, the Sprat.

Cyprinus Leuciseus, the Dace.

VOL. II. S

258 FISHES.

Branchy ostegous Fishes.

Cyclopterus lumpits, the Lump-Fish, belonging to the Discoboli, the third family
of the Subbrachian Malacopterygians of Cuvier.

C. Cornubiensis, the Jura Sucker.

Tetraodon truncatus, the oblong Sun Fish. This species belongs to the order of
Plectognathes of Cuvier.

Centriscus scolopax, the Trumpet Fish. This species belongs to Fistularido, the
fifteenth family of the Acanthopterygians of Cuvier.

Chondropterygious Fishes.

Torpedo, the Torpedo, or Cramp Ray. This species belongs to the fixed gilled
Chondropterygians of Cuvier.

Squalus squatina, the Angel Fish, commonly called in Cornwall the Monk Fish.

Sq. galus, The Tope Fish or White Hound.

Sq. mustelus, the Smooth Hound.

Sq. maximus, the Basking Sharp.

Sq. Cornubicus, the Porbeagle.

Accipenser sturio, the common Sturgeon.

Petromyzon caecus, the mud Lamprey.

Trigla hirundo, the Tub-fish.

T. lyra, the Piper.

T. lineata, the streaked Gurnard.

T. cuculus, the Elleek, red Gurnard or Soldier.

T. gurnardiis, the Grey Gurnard.

Ophidium pdlucidum, the pellucid Ophidium.

259

NATURE OF FISHES.

• GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURE AND
ORGANIZATION OF FISHES, (a.)

CHAPTER I.

General Characters and Essential Natwe of Fishes.

More than two thirds of the surface of the globe are covered with
the waters of the ocean ; (6) considerable portions of our islands and
continents are watered by rivers of various magnitudes, or occupied
by lakes, ponds, and marshes ; and this empire of the waters which so
extensively exceeds the amount of dry land, is far from yielding to

{J^ (a) We only comply with the very judicious suggestion made to us from high quar-
ters, in adding to this translation of the " Regne Animal" the admirable description
of the nature and organization of fishes, as given by our immortal author in his
great work " Histoire Naturelle des Poissons." We feel it only our duty to place
before our readers, the results of anatomical researches, such as no work in the
English language could supply.

(6) This assertion has been proved to be below the truth by actual examination,
and as the measurements of the different portions of each element form a curious
subject of contemplation, we shall not hesitate to submit them to the public.

Areas of the Seas of the Earth.

Square Miles.
The Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans . . . 126,045,000

The Atlantic Ocean, and the numerous seas connected with it 33,837,000

The Caspian, Great Lakes of America, and other smaller col-
lections of water ..... 250,000

Area of water surface on the Earth . . . 160,132,000

Areas of the Continents, Islands, &c, of the Earth.

Square Miles.

Land in Torrid Zone

Southern Temperate Zone

Northern ditto

Polar Circle

Southern

13,600,000
3,560,000

17,960,000

3,520,000

200,000

Summary of Land and Water. 38,840,000

Land . . . 38,840,000

Water . . . 160,133,000

S 2

260 FISHES.

the latter in the number and variety of living creatures which inhabits
its depths. On the land, the matter susceptible of life, is, for the most
part, appropriated to the formation and support of vegetable species ;
the herbiverous animals are sustained upon these species, which,
becoming anamalized by this process, constitute the proper food of
the carniverous animals, these latter, however, composing scarcely
more than half the terrestial classes of living beings. But in the
waters, and in an especial manner, in the ocean, where the vegetable
kingdom is infinitely more circumscribed, every thing teems with
life or is ready for that condition : here the animals sustain existence
only at the expense of each other, or by feeding on the mucous and
other remains of animal bodies : here too may be contemplated the
extremes of greatness and littleness, from the millions of monads and
other species which might have been eternally invisible to us without
that marvellous auxiliary, the microscope, up to those cachalots, and
other whales which exceed twenty times the size of the largest ter-
restial quadrupeds. Here, likewise, is it that we come to regard the
grandest scale in nature of those organic combinations on which natu-
ralists bestow the title of '• classes," and of which we may well say,
that they all constitute so many representatives, just as among the
birds, creatures essentially aerial, we find several, as the Penguins,
for example, whose structure keeps them nearly all their lives attached
to the ocean tribes.

The class Mammalia numbers amongst its members in the waters
not only the Seals, the Morses, and the Sea Cows, which cannot live
long out of it, but also the whole of the "Whales which cannot live out
of it at all : whilst, at the same time, the nature of their respiratory
function obliges them to come to the surface of the water. In the
sea, again, we find representatives, on the part of the reptiles, in
Tortoises, Crocodiles, Serpents, and especially in the Batrachian or
Frog tribes. Numerous insects are aquatic, even in their perfect
state ; and the very considerable proportion of this class which ascends
in the atmosphere to produce their young and then to die there, have
previously existed in the waters, either in the larva or the nympha state,
during a large portion of their life. It is in the waters that we must
expect to find almost the whole of the Mollusca, the Annelides, the
Crustacea, and the Zoophytes — four classes which contribute to the land
only some isolated and erratic members. Thus the ancients used to
say that eA T ery thing that existed any where else was found in the sea,
whilst many things were in the sea which could not be discovered in
any other place. Quicquid nascatur in parte naturce ulla et in mari esse ;
proeterque mvlta quce nusquam alibi*.

But of all the countless multitudes of creatures which populate and
give life to the liquid element — none so abound — none are so ex-
clusively peculiar — none so remarkable for their number, their varied
forms, their beautiful colours, and, above all, the infinite benefits
which man derives from them — as those which belong to the class of
Fishes. This paramount importance of the fishes is such as to have
led to the extension of the application of their name to every form of

* Pliny, b. IX. c. II.

FISHES 261

aquatic animal, insomuch that in the old authors, and even in some of
the writers of modern times, we frequently find this name given to
Whales, to Molluscous animals, and those of the Crustacea ; a sort of
confusion which it is the easier to explain when we consider that the
class of fishes is one of those which are most strictly limited by in-
variable characters.

Nothing can be more clear and exact than the definition of Fishes,
in general acceptation, at present, namely, that they are vertebrated
animals with red blood, breathing by branchiae, and through the
medium of water.

This definition arises from observation ; it is the result of analysis,
or what is called in physical science an empyrical formula. But its
propriety may also be demonstrated by the synthetic method, for if it
be exactly comprehended, it will enable us to understand the nature
of that division of beings to which the definition applies.

Vertebrated animals must, of necessity, be those which have an
internal skeleton, a brain, and spinal marrow enveloped in the ver-
tebral column (a), the muscles exterior to the bones, only four extremi-
ties, and the organs of the four primary senses in the head, &c.

Agnatic animals, that is to say, living in a liquid medium of greater
specific gravity, and more resisting, than air ; they must have their
moving power exactly adjusted to accomplish progression : but
elevation can be easily effected by them ; hence we find them with
bodies capable only of the smallest force of resistance, the principal
muscular power being in the tail; hence, also, the contraction of
their limbs, the expansibility of the latter, and of the membranes, by
which they are supported ; and hence, finally, are the integuments
smooth and scaly, and altogether destitute of feathers and hairs.

Performing the process of respiration simply through the medium
of water, in other words, only availing themselves of the small pro-
portion of oxygen which is contained in the air mixed with the water,
for the purpose of giving an arterial character to their blood, it follows
that this blood must remain cold, and that, consequently, the vitality
of the fishes, and the energy of their senses and of their motions must be
inferior to those of the mammalia and the birds. And, in point of fact,
their brain, though similar in its structure, is much smaller than it is
in the former classes, and their external organs of sense are not ofi
nature to enable them to feel any very powerful sensations. The
fishes, therefore, form that division of the vertebrated animals which
possess the least appreciable signs of sensibility. Excluded from the
use of elastic air, they are consigned to eternal dumbness, at least
this is very nearly the case, and all those feelings which vocal sounds
are calculated to excite, are to them for ever strangers. Their eyes
have no faculty of motion, their faces are long and fixed, their limbs
are incapable of flexion, and always moving in one single mass, afford
no opportunity for the play of their physiognomy, and no power for
the expression of their emotions; their ear enclosed on ('very side in

ft^ (a) To guard against any misunderstanding with respect to the assertion
that the brain is in the vertebral column, we must mention that the skull is regarded
as only a vertebra extensively developed. — Eng. Ed.

262 FISHES.

the bones of the head, destitute of an external concha, as also of a
cochlea internally, and composed solely of little sacs and membranous
canals, hardly enable them to hear the loudest sounds. Of little use
would the faculty of hearing be to these animals, that are condemned
to live in the realms of silence, where all about them is still. Vision
would be of little advantage to fishes in the depths to which they are
consigned, had not most of the species, in the large proportion of
their eyes, a resource against the weakness of the light ; but in these
animals, the direction of the eye is hardly ever changed, and still less
can they vary its dimensions so as to accommodate the organ to the
distance of visible objects. The iris neither contracts nor dilates,
and the pupil is never altered whatever be the diversity of the quan-
tity of light, No tear bathes that eye, no eye-lid dries or affords it
protection, and in the fishes there is only found a very feeble image
indeed of that organ so remarkable for its beauty and its animation
in the higher classes of animals. They procure their food only by
swimming in pursuit of their prey, which itself swims with greater or
less rapidity, they possess the power, not indeed of seizing, but merely
of swallowing, so that the delicate faculty of taste would have been
thrown away upon them had nature bestowed it; but their tongue,
almost immoveable, sometimes completely bony, or, like a coat of
mail, studded with plates of teeth, and supplied very sparingly with
thin nerves, demonstrate to us that the organ is just as blunt as we
should have previously concluded from its very little use. The
function of smell, also, cannot be so continually exercised by fishes,
as it is by animals which breath the air, and through whose organs of
smell odoriferous vapours are constantly circulating. Lastly, their
touch, almost obliterated at the surface of the body by the scales, and
also in their limbs, in consequence of the absence of the power of
bending their rays, and, further, in consequence of the dryness of their
enveloping membranes, their touch, I repeat, has been forced, as it
were, to take refuge at the extremity of their lips, and these even, in
some species, are reduced to a state of bony hardness, that renders
them insensible. Thus, the external senses of fishes supply them
with a very small share indeed of lively and distinct impressions ;
the natural objects which surround them must affect them only in a
confused manner ; but little variety belongs to their pleasures, and no
sufferings are likely to visit them from without, save such as may be
the effect of wounds. Their unceasing craving, that which alone
influences and acts on them, except during the nuptial season, that
predominant passion must be enough to satiate their internal sense of
hunger ; to devour is almost the entire business of their lives when
not engaged in reproducing, and it is solely for this great purpose,
feeding, that their structure is adjusted, and all their organs of motion
arranged. To pursue their prey, or to escape an enemy, is the double
employment of their existence ; it is these that determine the various
habitations of which they make choice, and the variations of their
forms ; they also serve to explain why nature supplied some of the
species with so few instincts, and so little of any faculty of con-
trivance; the fishing rays of the anglers*, the tubed-mouths sud-

* See p. 158 of this volume. See Epibulus and Coricus, in the 14th family of
the same order

FISHES. 263

denly shot out of the Epibulus and of Coricus, the terrible commo-
tion excited by the Torpedo and Gymnotus, have no other object.
The variations of temperature themselves affect fishes very little, not
only because these changes are more limited in the element wnere
they reside than in our atmosphere, but also because their bodies,
assuming the surrounding temperature, the contrast between the
external cold and interior heat is hardly felt by them. Thus, the
seasons are by no means, in respect of the migrations or epochs of
propagation, such strict regulators of the fishes as they are of the
quadrupeds, and especially of the birds. Many fishes spawn in win-
ter ; towards autumn the herrings come clown from the north to shed
their milts and roes on our coasts ; it is in the north that this class
exhibits the most astonishing fecundity, if not in the variety of the
species, certainly in the number of the individuals composing each
species, and in no other part of the sea, besides, do we find any thing
even approaching to the infinite myriads of cod and herrings which
periodically attract entire fleets into the North Seas.

The nuptial intercourse of the fishes is as frigid as they are them-
selves ; it involves only an individual want. Some species hardly
ever come together mutually to enjoy pleasure ; in other species the
males pursue the roe rather than the female ; and they are reduced to
the condition of fecundating the roes of the mother of whose they are
utterly ignorant, and the mature state of whose vroductions they
shall never become acquainted with. The pleasures, therefore, of a
mother are denied to a great number of the species ; several merely
carry the roe for a time, and, with some exceptions, the fishes may be
described as having no nest to build, no young to support and protect;
m a word, throughout the whole details of their economy a complete
contrast with the birds is presented by the fishes.

The being of the air beholds before him a magnificent horizon; his
accute organ of hearing enables him to appreciate sounds and intona-
tions, and, by his voice, he may produce them again ; should his bill be
hard, and should his body be clothed in down for his protection, when
he ascends to the elevated regions of the atmosphere, then shall he
find in his feet the very perfection of the* most delicate sense of touch.
In the enjoyment of all the sweets of conjugal and paternal affection,
he courageously fulfils the duties which these characters impose on
him, lie defends himself and his offspring ; a wonderful art presides
over the construction of the nest, and when the proper time arrives,
they labour together without interruption. During the interval,
whilst the mother is hatching the eggs with such admirable 1 constancy,
the father, impassioned of his lover and become a tender husband,
beguiles the fatigue of his companion with his minstrelsy. Even in
a state of slavery the bird attaches himself to his master ; submitting
to him and executing under his orders the most dexterous and deli-
cate exploits, he lmnts like a dog, and suits his voice to the highest
airs, nor is it without a feeling of pain almost that we deny to him
the possession of reason.

The inhabitant of the waters, on the contrary, has no attachment ;
without language, without affection, he knows not what it is to be a
husband and a father, or what it is to have a home ; when danger

264 FISHES.

threatens he hides himself beneath the rocks in the sea, or darts rapidly-
down into the depths of the water : his life is a monotonous stillness ;
his voracity alone constitutes the business of his life, and it is only by
that that he can be led to direct his motions through the medium of
signs from without. Nevertheless, these beings to which enjoyments
have been so scantily supplied, are decorated by nature with every sort
of beauty : variety in their forms, elegance in their proportions, diver-
sity and gaiety in their colours, — nothing, in fact, is wanted in them
to fix the attention ; and it really would seem that nature had this
end in view in her design. The splendour of the metallic bodies and
of all the precious stones, with which they shine forth, the colours of the
iris which they exhibit, are reflected in bands or spots, in undulating
or angular lines, but invariably regular and symmetrical, the shades
wonderfully adjusted and contrasted. Wherefore should all these
endowments be distributed to creatures like the fishes which scarcely
ever see each other, save only in those depths where the light of the
sun hardly penetrates, and even when they do see each other what sort
of pleasurable sensation can be excited amongst them by these cha-
racters ?

Hence it is that man has always directed his attention to the
animals of this class. The abundance of aliment of which they are
the source leads him to attack them as the first object of his pursuit ;
and many Ichthyophagi belong to a race less inferior in the scale
of civilization than even the pastoral tribes, and great numbers of fami-
lies derive the whole of their subsistence from fishing. Islanders
and residents on coasts look after and take notice of the numerous
species which frecpient their rocks, and a more intrepid race actually
navigates to the greatest distance, to attack, in the middle of the ocean,
the huge phalanxes of fishes travelling on their course, But in
thus supplying the first necessities of man, the fishes are not the less
available to the opulent, as means of luxury the most refined. Rome,
the gulf into which were once poured the riches of the Avorld, devoted
to this branch of expenditure sums such as now we can scarcely
believe, Ponds of immense size were maintained both for sea and
fresh water fishes ; they were actually brought alive on the table, to
afford amusement by the variations of colour which they experienced
in dying ;* and it would appear that such were the pains and perse-

* " Mullum expirantem versicolori quadam et numerosa varietate spectari, pro-
ceres gula narrant, rubentium squamarum multiplici mutatione pallescentem, uiique si
vitro spectetur inclusus." (Plin., I. IX, c. 17. Voyez aussi S^neque, Quest nat.,
\. Ill, c. 18.
Et

Ingeniosa gula est, siculo scams (vquorc mersus

Ad mensam vivus perducitur

(Petron. (Harm, be bell civ. v. 33.)
Translation. — "The belly-gods of former times tell us that the mullet in dying,
underwent a very great variety of changes of colour ; becoming gradually pale by very
rapid changes of the red colour of the scales, precisely as if it were euclosed in glass."
(Pliny 1. IX, c. 17.) See also Seneca, Quest. Nat. 1. Ill, c. IS.
And,

" Gluttony is ingenious, for the scarus fish which is merged in the Sicilian sea,
s brought alive to table." (Petronius, cam. de bello civil, v. 33.

FISHES. 265

verance adopted in the treatment of fishes, that an infinitely more
extensive command was acquired over them than we should have at
all supposed possihle from their nature. Some fishes used to recog-
nize their masters, and even had names by which they came at a call;
at least this is what has been handed down to us by authors, who
speak of the fishes as perfectly astonishing productions of industry
stimulated by luxury.*

It is from observations made in fish-ponds, and from information
collected by fishermen during their expeditions, that we derive the
little which we know of the manners of these animals ; but it is very
probable that most of their secret habits utterly escape our knowledge
in those depths where they pass the greater portion of their lives.
Some live solitary, others in troops ; one set traverses immense spaces,
whilst others, always sedentary, never leave the bottom where they
were born. The nature of the bottom too, determines the habitation
of several of the species. There are fishes that live only in the rocky
parts of the sea coast; others will prefer the pure waters of the high
seas, others again will choose the stagnant and muddy waters, where
they can bury themselves in the mud or the sand, and of these there are
several that can live, even when the mud or sand by which they are

* Martial., 1. IV, £p. 3o,v. 3:

Sacris piscibits hce natantur undce

Qui norunt dominum manumque lambunt,

IUam qua nihil est in orbe majus.

Quid quod nomen habcnt et ad magistri

Vocem quisque sui venit citatus.
Et 1 . X, e>. 30 :

Piscina rhombum pascit et lupos vcrnas.
Natat ad magisfrum delicafa murcena.
Nomenculator mugilem citat notum
Et udesse jussi prodeunt senes mulli.
Plinne rapporte le m£me fait, 1. X, c. 70 :

" Spectator et in piscinis ccesaris, genera piscium ad nomen venire, quosdamque sin-
gulos."

The passage in Latin quoted, is from the Roman poet Martial, and the epi-
gram instead of being the 30th, is really the 23rd. in the 4th book. The extract is
made from an epigram addressed by Martial to all anglers, not to go near a royal
pond at Baliae, belonging to the Emperor Domitian ; the word "hand" in the fol-
lowing translation refers to that of Domitian.

Martial, 1. IV. ep. 30, v. 3.

These waters are swimmed by sacred fishes,
Which know their ruler, and lick that

hand than which in the world is greater,
Whatever be the name they have, each comes

at the call of the master of the pond.

And 1. X, ep. 30.

The pond feeds the turbot, and wolves feed slaves,

The delicate murcena swims to his master.

The collector of names summons the known mullet,

And the old ones come out when ordered.
Pliny states the same fact, 1. X, c. 70.
" It may be seen in Caesar's pond, each fish comes as his name is called."

266 fishes.

enveloped is no longer covered with water, subsisting on the smallest
portion of that fluid which it may contain. The immobility of some fishes
as the Rays, and those of the genus Lophius, forms a striking contrast
with the very great rapidity of a large number, especially some of the
mackerels. Several fishes as the Eels and Gobies can actually live for
some time on dry land, and can creep on the banks of rivers; the anabas
climbs up trees, and establishes himself on the leaves where little col-
lections of water are formed. The pirabebes and flying fishes have
such extensive pectoral fins as to enable them to rise and support them-
selves in the air, and even to move a good distance in it. The most
remarkable industry in all the class perhaps, is that of certain fishes of
India, Toxotes jaculator, and Chcetodon rostratus, which, by spurting
drops of water to a certain height, bring down insects for their food.
But all these varieties of habits are principally connected with the
conformations of the animals, and it would be in vain to attempt to
give an account, unless from a detailed study of the structure in every
part of the body, of the distinctions which mark it from that of the
other Vertebrae, and the modifications of it in the various families, ge-
nera and species.

His for this study that the whole of this book is destined to be a pre-
paration. We begin it by an examination of the body of the fish in its
exterior; we then describe the bony frame work which supports and
gives it form and proportions ; the muscles which act on it and supply
it with the due impulse for its various motions : then the organs of the
senses which receive the impressions of external objects ; the nerves
which convey these impressions ; the brain where they ultimately
meet, and from which the commands of the will are distributed : next
the organs of digestion, beginning with the teeth, and ending with the
lacteals which carry the chyle into the blood : the vessels of the circula-
tion, both those which carry back the blood from the various parts of
the body to the gills, or from the gills to the various parts of the
body ; then these gills themselves with all their appendages, or the
means whereby the blood receives, from without, the portion of
oxygen which is essential to it : finally, we shall describe the organs
of reproduction in the two sexes, and the roe or the various envelopes
and provisions prepared for the foetus.

It is only after we have been acquainted by the succeeding articles,
with the general notions of all the parts of animal organization, such
as it is found modified in the fishes, tliat we shall be able to take up,
with advantage, the particlar historv of families, genera, and species.

In our descriptions we shall be as brief as the necessity of preserving
clearness will allow; we shall avoid, most carefully, that jumble of
technical terms, which seem invented on purpose to make as repugnant
as possible a science already overgrown with intrinsic difficulties, and
which are very little necessary to the description of beings and forms,
generally speaking, so simple as the fishes.

FISHES. 267

CHAPTER II.

EXTERIOR OF FISHES.

The fishes, having no neck, and their tail at its commencement being
generally as large as the trunk, their body is most commonly of a
shape that only diminishes very gradually towards each of the extre-
mities, unless one or the other should be truncated or ended in a club,
or the tail (as occurs only in the rays) be much more slender than the
rest.

The body is either rounded, as in the Diodons, or cvlindrical as in
the Eels ; it is compressed either horizontally as in the Rays, or ver-
tically as in the greater number of fishes.

The head is either bulkier than the body, as in the genus Lophius,
or smaller, as is the case in many species ; it is round or compressed in
various directions; it is obtuse as in the Bull-heads (Cottus), or more
or less elongated as in the Flute Mouths (Fistularia), or the genus
Centriscus. There are fishes with the two jaws prolonged into a
beak as in the Gar Fish (Belone), and some with only the lower jaw
prolonged, as the subgenus Hemiramphus; or sometimes the upper
jaw forms a snout projecting over the mouth as in the Rays, the
Sharks, and the Sword Fish.

The mouth opens either beneath the snout as in the Rays, or at its
end as in the greater part of fishes; it may open even vertically
towards the heavens as is the case with the Star Gazers (Uranoscopus) ;
its cleft is more or less extensive, varying from the size of a small hole
as in Centricus, to that of a vast mouth as in Lophius.

Externally we only find the organs of two senses, the orifices of the
nostrils and the eyes ; the first are either very simple as in the Rays
and Sharks, or they are double as in the greater part of osseous fishes:
they may be more or less approximated either from the jaws, from the
eyes,or the end of the snout.

The eyes vary extremely in size according to species, and they even
disappear occasionally under the skin, as in the Ribband Fishes
(Taenioides) : their direction is not less variable than their diameter ;
they are most frequently directed laterally, and are elevated some-
times so much, as to be completely vertical and turned to the
heavens, as in the Uranoscopes ; in the whole of the Flat Fishes
(Pleuronectes), they are both on the same side of the head, the right
or left.

There is only one family of fishes belonging to theChondropterygians,
with the outer borders of the branchiae attached to the skin, and with
as many openings for the issue of water as there are intervening
spaces between the branchiae ; but all the other fishes of this order
have the branchiae free at the external border ; and the water which
they imbibe makes its exit by a single opening (a solitary gill) on
either side. This gill varies considerably in size and in the extent of

268 FISHES.

its aperture ; in the Herrings it is enormous, and is continued round
the whole side of the head : in the Eels it is rather small, and placed
backwards ; some species of this family, the Synbranchiie, have no
more than one opening for the two gills.

The operculum, which, by its motion, is an agent in respiration,
varies both in its size and shape : the membrane which completes it
beneath, is joined either wholly or partially to its fellow of the oppo-
site side, or to that portion of it which is adjacent to the shoulder. The
number of rays which support it is more or less considerable ; some
times as in the Tetrodons, the Diodons. and the Ostracions, a large
portion of this apparatus is concealed beneath the skin, and it can
only be seen by dissection ; it is altogether wanting in those small
species which have numerous orifices.

A part of the fins are vertical, and become to the fish what the
keel or rudder is to the ship ; they are fixed either to the back, when
they are called Dorsal, or beneath the tail Avhen they are called Anal,
or at the end of the tail when they are called Caudal ; they vary
in the number, in the height, and in the structure of the rays which
support them, and which, in some cases, are spinous, and in others,
branched and composed of many small joints. Other fins are ar-
ranged in pairs, and represent the four extremities of the higher
classes. Those fins which correspond with the arms and wings, are
called pectoral fins, being always attached behind the gills; the fins
which answer to the feet are called ventral fins, and may be placed
more or less forward or behind, from the lower part of the throat to
the origin of the tail. Both the fins are variable in their size re-
spectively, in the number of their rays, in the circumstance of their
being a simple or a jointed structure. Sometimes one of the pairs,
sometimes the two pairs are altogether wanted ; the Eels, for exam-
ple, have no ventral fins, and the Murpena not only have no ventral,
but they have no pectoral fins : the Apterichtes have no fin at all.

We call those osseous fishes, the rays of whose fins are articulated
or jointed, Malacopterygians; and the name of Acanthoptery-
gians is given to those fishes which have the fins partly simple, and
in the form of spines ; but in some Malacopterygians, as the Carps
and Siluridee, the soldering of the articulations gives to certain of the
rays, the appearance of spines. The anus is sometimes very far back
behind the ventral fins ; it approaches them in some fishes or gets
before them, and when the fins do not exist at all, it is found to have
its opening just under the throat, as may be seen in the Sternarchus.
In certain species, as the Gobies and Blennies, the anus has, behind it,
a tongue-like body which would appear to have something to do with
generation, but it cannot be a penis, inasmuch as it is common to
the two sexes ; it is not to be found, however, in the greater
number of other fishes.

The whole of the distinctions to which we have now been ad-
verting, belong to the intimate structure, to the frame- work of the
fishes ; there are other distinctions of a more superficial kind.

The jaws are armed with teeth of all sorts, and these are sometimes
placed in all parts of the mouth and even in the gullet.

The lips are furnished with appendices or cirri, which differ either

FISHES. 269

in their texture, their number and length, as in the Barbels,
Silures, and the Pogonias.

Some fishes have thick fleshy cirri on the body as the Scorpoenas ;
some of the rays can be detached from the fin, and are capable of
independent motion, whether they belong to the vertical fins as in the
genus Lophius, or to the pectoral fins as in the Gurnards.

In fine, the nature of the integuments, whether we speak of those
of the body, or of the head, or the fins, is subject to variety ; a fish
may be either naked, scaly, spinous, or mailed, in all or only in some
of its parts ; its scales, or the pieces of its coat of mail, differ very con-
siderably in size, in outline, in the indentations of their borders, and
the inequalities of their surface. The same may be said of the various
pieces which cover the head. The line, formed on each side of the
body by a series of pores or minute tubes excavated in the scales, are
sometimes more or less marked, or even mailed and protected ; again,
it is more or less straight, or more or less brought nearer the back. If
we combine, with all these considerations, what belongs to the colours,
the distribution of those colours and their shadings, and further, what
belongs to the size and weight of fish, we shall be able to form some
idea of the character which distinguishes, externally, the various be-
ings of this great class. We shall, at the same time, be struck with
the inadequacy of ordinary language to express and convey a just im-
pression of all these diversities.

CHAPTER III.

OSTEOLOGY OF FISHES.

After the above general exposition, we proceed to the examination
of the various organs, and we shall begin with those which are the
support of all the others, namely, those composing the skeleton ; but
before we take up the several bones, it is necessary that we should
have some previous knowledge of their peculiar nature and their inti-
mate tissue.

Tissue of the Bones in Fishes

AVith respect to the tissue of their bones, fishes may be divided into
the Osseous, Fibro-cartilaginous and True Cartilaginous fishes.

The last of the divisions, also denominated in former times Chon-
dropterygians, and which from their frame- work, their branchiae, (the
external edge of which, on each side is, attached to the skin, and
through which the water escapes only by means of very small but
numerous orifices,) and on account of manyother peculiarities of their
organization, are distinguished, very strikingly, from all other fishes,
— the fishes of this division, we say being not furnished with true bones.
The hard parts of their frame consist internally only of cartilage which
is homogeneous and semi-transparent, which is developed on the sur-
face of the Rays and Dog-fishes only, in a layer of minute, opaque, and

270 FISHES.

calcareous particles arranged in a very compact manner : but this car-
tilage in the Lampreys never assumes this form of the covering, and in
the common Pride (cammoccetes) it continues always to be nearlj
membranous.

The Sturgeon and Chimsera have, to a certain extent, the same sort
of softness of their spine as the Lampreys ; but the former genus has
many more bones in its head and shoulder, (at least one lamina
of their surface) perfectly hardened and bony.

The other fishes present scarcely any other difference between them
except the hardness of the pieces composing their skeleton ; and it is
rather unfortunate that the fibro-cartilaginous group should have been
associated with the Chondropterygians by some naturalists. The
calcareous matter, — in other words, the phosphate of lime, is deposited
in the former, either in fibres, or in layers in the cartilage, which con-
stitutes the basis of their bones, just as it does in the most osseous of
the fishes. The only thing is, that it is less abundant in them, and
the tissue of the bone does not become so hard, neither does it assume
that homogeneity which characterizes the bones of certain osseous
fishes.

As an example we may mention the Moon-fish (tetrodon mola) in
which we find some fibres, sprinkled, so to speak, over the mem-
branes. Lophius piscatorius is the fish that approaches the Moon-fish
most in softness. The other tetrodons, diodons, file-fishes, and ostra-
cions, have their bones both harder and more homogeneous, so that
they are distinguished from the real osseous fishes with very great
difficulty.

It is also perfectly certain that the bony frame work of these fibro-
cartilaginous fishes is constructed on the same plan as that of the
osseous fishes, and not on that of the chondropterygians, and it is alto-
gether in opposition to truth for both Artedi and Linnaeus to deny to
these fishes both the ojiercula, and the branchiostegal rays : the file-
fishes have true ribs which are wanted in the tetrodons, the diodons,
and ostracions ; the real difference between the three genera being the
arrangement of their jaws respectively. The pipe-fishes (syngna-
thus) have not even this difference, but then they are deficient in the
ribs, and in the branchiostegal rays.

A perfectly gratuitous assumption has been entertained as to the
bones of ordinary or osseous fishes being more flexible and extensible,
becomes a softer skeleton than the clases above them, and it has been
attempted to found on this doctrine a theory which pretends to ex-
plain the longevity observed in some species. Now, most of the
osseous fishes actually have their bones quite as hard, nay, harder than
other animals ; there are even some, in whose tissue we can discover
neither pores nor fibres, and which look perfectly homogeneous and
with a glassy polish to the eye.

No fish whatever, either of the osseous or cartilaginous orders,
has epiphyses or medullary cavities in their bones ; but in some of
these animals, as the Trouts, the bony tissue is penetrated with a
variable quantity of oleaginous juice. Others, as the Dory, have the
internal parts of particular bones permanently cartilaginous, whilst
the surfaces of these bones are completely ossified In fine, we see

FISHES. 271

fishes, in which, whilst the rest of the skeleton' is increasing in hard-
ness, some part or another is sure to remain cartilaginous, and this
is really exemplified in the head of the Pike.

The Joints of the Bones of Fishes.

The articulations, or joints, of fishes, exhibit the same varieties
as are observed in those of other animals, save only, that those of
the arthrodial andginglymus kind, or whose articulations which allow
of determined motions, either according to a single plan or to many,
are rarely to be found in the fishes, inamuch, as their limbs are
not required to perform any varied series of motions, (a) It is by
means of a ginglymus, for instance, that the lower jaw and the oper-
culum are attached to the pterygo-palatine apparatus, and the latter to
the cranium. We observe it also in the joints of the rays of the
dorsal and anal fins formed with the interosseous bones, and in the
joint of the first ray of the pectoral fin with the bone, which in
the fish, analogous to the radius. (6) In the fishes there are two
species of joints for a given extent of motion, of which we have no
instance in any other class : we allude to the rings which are joined
to each other like the links of a chain, and which, according to the
impulse given them by the fish, become very active or completely
fixed ; examples of the one kind and the other, are to be met with in
the Silures. The joints, destined for a certain extent of motion, like
those of the superior animals, have their ligaments, cartilages, and
synovia, (c)

The articulation of the bodies of the vertebrae is formed by means
of a fibro-cartilaginous substance passing through these bodies, and
sometimes assumes the form of an elongated cord, as in the sturgeon
and lamprey ; it is also by a medium of fibro-cartilage that the pieces
of the opercula, those of the branchial apparatus, those of the bones
of the shoulder, arms, wrist, bones of the pelvis, and of those which
are attached to the bones of the shoulder, become united, the one to
the other.

Chemical Composition of the Bones of Fishes.

From the investigations and experiments which my learned col-
eague in the Institute. M. Chevreul, has gone through, on my entreaty,
it appears that the bones of fishes, as well as those of other vertebrated
animals, consist of an organic base (animal matter) jjenetrated by an
earthy substance.

fc^ (a) It may be proper to state, that the Arthrodia or Arthrodial class of joiut9
consists of those in which fiat surfaces, or nearly so, are connected. The wrist
joint is an example of this class. The ginglymus division of joints consists of those
resembling a hinge, as the elbow for instance.

(b) The radius is the bone which may be felt in a line with the thumb, up to a
point opposite the elbow.

(c) This word is of Greek origin, and means the resemblance to the white of
egg. Synovia is an oily albuminous fluid, secreted in membranes between the
joints, and operates precisely as grease on the wheels of vehicles. — Exg. Ed,

272 FISHES.

The earthy substance is phosphate of lime and magnesia, together
with oxide of iron, which is supposed to be combined with phosphoric
acid ; there is also a slight quantity of sub-carbonate of lime. The
animal matter is of two kinds ; one is of the character of nitrogen
or azote, and it is the basis of cartilage ; the other, of a fatty nature,
is a sort of oil by which it is impregnated.

The cartilage of the bones of fishes differs much from that of the
mammalia and birds, for it yields when boiled in water, no gelatine
whatever.

The oil consists of a large proportion of oleine, to which are added
in very minute quantities two principles, one of which is odorous, and
the other a yellow colouring matter. The oil is changed into soap
with great facility, and when so treated gives off oleic acid, glvcerine,
and a very minute quantity of margaric acid, so that, if this acid be
supplied by stearine contained in the oil, the stearine cannot certainly
exist in any great quantity in the oil.

The bones of a carp and a perch having been placed in a vacuum,
and dried until thev Avere incapable of yielding no more water,
sustained a loss of their original weight equal to eighty-seven cen-
tiemes. In one hundred parts the following components were found :

Cartilaginous azotic matter .36 5

Oil chiefly consisting of oleine 19 5

Phosphate of lime 37

Sub-carbonate of lime 5 5

Phosphate of magnesia and oxide of iron 7

Sub-carbonate of soda, sulphate of soda, and chlo-
ride of soda, (sea salt) ...... 8

Total '.. 100

In the cartilaginous fishes, or chondropterygians, there is a greater
proportion of water. The comparative quantity of soluble salts, that
is, of the chloride of soda, sub-carbonate of soda, and especially of the
sulphate of soda, is much greater, whilst on the contrary the propor-
tion of the phosphates is considerably less ; but their animal matter is
the same in the azotic substance and the oil. The vertebra? of the
Pilgrim Squalus maximus. analyzed when it was fresh, yielded in one
hundred parts,

Water 90

Azotic matter of cartilage and oil :'. 6 485

Sulphate of soda . 1 859

Chloride of soda . 1 362

Subcarbonate of soda 2

Phosphate of lime and magnesia; oxide of iron,

of alunmina, and silicum 094

Total 100

PISHES. 273

The analysis of the same bones when dry, gives the following
results.

Azotic matter and oil 64 85

Sulphate of soda 18 59

Chloride of soda 13 62

Subcarbonate of soda 2

Phosphate of lime, &c 94

Total 100

M. Chevreul is of opinion that the soluble salts are not in their
solid state in these cartilages, but in a state of solution in the water,
and what is very remarkable still is, that the liquid found in the in-
tervertebral cavities of this squalus has only slight traces of the sul-
phate of soda, whilst its cartilage consists of so large a quantity of
that substance. This liquid, in addition, contains chloride of soda,
subcarbonate of soda, and a very small proportion of oil, and the
azotic substance of cartilage.

General Arrangement of the Skeleton in Osseous Fishes*

In this place we shall consider the skeleton in those species, in
which it assumes its most general form, viz., the Osseous Fishes,
postponing to another opportunity, the examination of those peculi-
arities by which the Chondropterygians are distinguished.
f This skeleton consists of the head, the respiratory apparatus, of which,
the osseous frame-work is very much developed, of a trunk, which
comprehends the body and tail ; and by the limbs, which are the pec-

* The osteology of fishes has been a long time neglected. There is not a sin-
gle skeleton of a fish in the collections of Blasius or Valentin. Cheselden has given a
plate of the skeleton of a Ray, but without any description (l). Duhamel has given
another, that of the Flounder (3). Bonnaterre has added the skeleton of a Carp (4).
The author who gave the greatest number of plates of fishes in the last century, was
John Daniel Meyer, who published the figures of twenty-four species (5). The de-
scriptions of all these authors, however, are quite vague and unsatisfactory (5).
The same character may be given to the sort of ideal form offered by Gouan (6), with a
description full of errors both of omission and commission ; and as to what Vicq-
d'Azir has stated respecting them in his Memoirs on Fishes, it is hardly complete (7).
It was only in 1800 that the subject began to be treated in a true scientific manner
by M. Auteriorieth (8). From that era we have had the various Memoirs of M.
Geoffroy in the Annales et Memoires du Museum, and in his large Description of
Egypt, which have illustrated many parts of this science (9) ; we may add the work
of M. Schulze in the German Archives of Physiology by Meckel (10), where several
good observations will be found. But the most recent ex profcsso work on this
subject is the Memoir of M. Rosenthal, inserted in the Physiological Archives of
Reil (l l), and the publication of which was followed, and its character supported,
by several fasciculi of plates, in which very accurate figures of the skeletons of a
great number of fishes are given (12). Excellent summaries on this branch
will be found in the Thesis of M. Van-der Hreven, De Sceleto Piscium, Leyden,
1822, in 8vo, and in the Ostengraphia Piscium of M. Bakker, printed the same year
at Groningen. M. Meckel has also contributed a very elaborate and well executed
summary, enriched with many original observations in his Comparative Anatomy,
lib. 2, p. 17 — 381, published in 1824. By and bye we shall refer to works which
VOL. II. T

274 FISHES.

oral and ventral fins : the vertical fins (that is the dorsal), the
anal and caudal must be considered as part of the trunk.

The head, with a greater number of moveable parts than is found
in the Mammalia, requires to be subdivided into a great many
regions. We distinguish in it, the cranium, the jaws, the bones
situated beneath the cranium and behind the jaws, and which serve
to suspend them and give them power of motion, the bones of the
opercula, or the sort of lids which open and close the aperture of the
gills ; the bones which are nearly external that surround the nostril,
the eye, or the temple, or which cover a portion of the cheek.

The respiratory apparatus contains the os hyoides and its appen-
dages, or in other words, the branchiostegal rays, and the arches
which support the gills, with the different pieces borne by these ar-
ches, or which are suspended in them ; the whole of these in combina-
tion perform the functions of both larynx and trachea ; lastly, it

are expressly devoted to the head of Fishes. It will not be necessary for us to make
use of the figures of these authors in our descriptions, as we have all the skeletons
which they have communicated, and a great many others which now have accumu-
lated to nearly a thousand.

Notes to the foregoing note. — (l). It is the tail-piece of his preface to the work on
Osteography. (2) Peches, 2d part, sect. 9, pi. 7. (3) Ibid. p. 12. (4) Encyclopedia
Methodique, plates of Ichthyology, pi. A. (5) In his Representations of Animals and
their Skeletons, printed at Nuremberg, 1748, 2 vols, folio. In vol. 1, pi. 7,
may be seen the Carp : pi. S, the Mirror Carp; pi. 9, the Pike; pi. 42,
the common Eel; pi. 43, the Orfe; pi. 44, the Trout; pi. 71, the Ling;
pi. 72, the Bream ; pi. 73, the Perch ; pi. 74, the Gudgeon and Loche : vol. 2,
pi. 10, the Barbel; pi. 11, the Nase ; pi. 12, Cottus Gobio ; pi. 15, the Tench;
pi. 52, Salmo Thymallus; pi. 53, Cyprinus Erythroptalmus ; pi. 4, Cyp. Carassius ;
pi. 92, Cyp. Dobula ; pi. 93, Cyp. jeses ; pi. 94, White Orfe; pi. 95, Cobitis
Fossilis; pi. 96, Cob. Taenia and Cyp. Phoninus ; pi. 97, Cyprinus Leuciscus.
(6) Histoire des Poissons, p. 58, and sec. pi. 2. (7) In the Memoirs of the
Academy of Sciences, foreign naturalists, vol. vii., and in his Collected Works, by M.
Meroan of La Sarthe, vol. v. (8) Archives Zoologiques et Zootimiqu Wiedemann, vol.
i. 2d no. p. 47. (9) Annales, vol. ix., on the bones of the shoulder and the furcular
bone (thecoracoid) ; vol. x. on the sternum (the os hyiodes) ; Memoirs vol. x. on the
Vertabra ; Description of Egypt, Natural History of Fishes, pi. 2, the skeleton of
a tetrodon; pi. 3, that of a Bichir. We shall speak in a future page of his labours
on the head. (10) Vol, iv., 1818, p. 340, and seq. (ll) Vol. vii. p. 340, et seq.
(12) First no., Berlin, 1S12, pi. 1, the Bream ; pi. 4, the Herring; 2d no. ib.
1816, pi. 5, Salmo Marrtea ; pi. 6, the Salmon and Serra-salmon ; pi. 7, the Pike ;
pi. 8, the head of the Gar Fish; pi. 9, the Silurus; pi. 10, Cobitis Fossilis, Centrisens
Scolepax: 3d no. ib. 1821, pi. 11, the Flounder and Pleuronectes Maneus ; pi. 12,
Spams Rail, Ceryphona, Novaada, and Batistes Branbensis ; pi. 13, Zeus Faber,
Choetodon Cornut us and Striatus, and a pretended Ciryphona Lntea .• 4th no. ib. 1822,
pi. 14, Sparus wciandra, Rudolph, which is a Cantharus, the Anabas (Perca Scandens,
Daldorf, the Paneiri or Tree Climber of Tamoul) ; pi. 15, a Labrus, which the au-
calls Fuscus, and the Phycis Tinea (Blennius Phycis, Bl.) ; pi. 16, Polyprion Ccrnium,
improperly designated Sciana Aquila ; pi. 17, the Corb, called Scicena Umbra, the
Scomber Sarda and Scoreena Scrofa; pi. 18, Trigla Hirvndo, Uranoscopus Scuber,
the head of Trigla Cataphracta ; pi. 19, the Blennius Ocellaris, Lophius Histcio ; pi.
20, the Remora, the Black Goby, and Lepadogaster Balbis of Risso.

FISHES. 275

embraces the bones situated at the orifice of the pharynx, and which
constitute in some respect secondary jaws.

The trunk is formed of dorsal and caudal vertebrae, (for we can
hardly speak of the existence of a neck, and it is quite certain that
there is no sacrum in fishes) of ribs, bones called interspinous, which
afford a support for the dorsal and anal fins, and to the rays of the fins,
as well as to those of the caudal. Such of the rays as have branches
and joints, or are simple spines, become divided into two equal portions
in the direction of their length.

A sternum, properly so called, is very rarely found in fishes, and
when it does exist in a species, it is composed of two pieces which
are almost exterior, and on which the inferior extremities of the ribs
are united.

The anterior limb, or the pectoral fin, consists of the shoulder, of a
bony half-girdle, composed of several bones, suspended at the top
of the cranium or spine, and uniting with each other beneath.
These bones are analogous to the two pieces of the scapula in reptiles,
to the humerus and bones of the fore arm. Generally, there is a
stylet of two pieces, in which the coracoid, and even the clavicle, may
be detected. But what is beyond all doubt is, that the two bones
which represent the ulna and radius, have on their edges a series of
very small bones, which appear to be the rudiments of those of the
Carp, and which do actually support the rays of the pectoral fin.

The posterior limb, which varies a great deal more in its position
than in the mammalia, and the exterior and moveable portion of
which is called the ventral fin, is directed sometimes forward, at other
times downward, and also appears behind the anterior limb ; it is
composed of four bones, the largest of which, and they are the most
permanent likewise, being uniformly before the anus and orifices of
generation, may be regarded as a sort of pubis; they support on their
anterior edge, the rays of the fin without intermediate small bones,
which cannot be compared either to a femur, or tibia, a fibula, or even
to the bones of the tarsus.

The rays of the pairs of fins are longitudinally divided into halves
as the vertical fins.

After this general description of the parts into which the skeleton
is divided, we proceed to their individual examination.

The Skeleton and the Head.

The cranium of fishes is in general more distinct, it is more sepa-
rated from their face than that of any other of the vertebrated animals.
In a vast proportion of the species, the intermaxillary and maxillary
bones have a motion on the cranium by diarthrosis(a), and are inde-
pendent of each other in their motions, nay, independent even of the

{J^» (a) This word means the sort of joint or articulation, in which two bones are
not joined or immovable, but which are kept contiguous by ligaments, and have
motion. — Eng. Ed.

276 ' FISHES.

palatine, pterygoid, and tympanal system, which has its separate
motion*.

* The history of researches on the bones of the head in fishes is entirely recent,
and can be traced scarcely to twenty years back. Gouan, in his History of Fishes,
in 1770, and Vicq. D'Azyr, in his Memoirs on their Anatomy (Memoires des Sav.
Etrang. vol. VII,) mention nothing respecting the bones of the head, except what is
very vague, and occasionally erroneous. There were no more than a few insignificant
words on the composition of the cranium in this class, in my Lectures on Comparative
Anatomy up to 1798. What was said there gave very little details of the bones of
the face ; and it was also very imperfect, for the sphenoid was compared to the
vomer, the maxillary bone to the zygoma, &c.

In fact, at that period our collections were destitute of almost every sort of aid
towards the osteology of this class, and it was this circumstance that led me to
devote myself uninterruptedly to the task of filling up this great gap. The innumerable
specimens which I have collected, and the use of which I never denied to any one,
formed at the same time the groundwork for the laborious undertaking which I am
now presenting to the public, and for the memoirs of several naturalists, who there-
fore might easily appear to have anticipated me ; and, if they had anticipated me on
on some particular points, still I am far from complaining of publications and
researches made with my consent, and which have been of use to me. The only
thing I was anxious about was that those whom I allowed to take the benefit of the
materials which I had collected for the purpose of filling up the gaps in my first w r ork,
would have abstained from selecting that early performance for their criticisms, thus
leaving it to be inferred that I was stationary at this point of my researches.

About the year 1807, M. Geoffroy, in addition to his Memoir on the Osteology of
the Head of the Crocodile, inserted in vol. X. of the Annales du Museum, published
some essays to determine the bones of the head in the tortoise and some fishes ; and
it was at that time that he entertained the idea of the operculum being a parietal
bone, and emanating from the cranium. This theory was published by bim in his
Memoir on the Bones and Head of Birds, which was printed in the same volume,
X, p. 342.

I was led myself also to examine the head of the crocodile, and gave, in the
Annals of 1808, my osteology of living crocodiles and other reptiles. But since
that period I have been devoted to my large Treatise on Comparative Anatomy, and
particularly on that branch connected with the osteology of the head ; and in 1811
I delivered my settled theory on its complete state in my Lectures. An abridged
summary of it was given by me in a note on the osseous pieces of which the head of
vertebrated animals consisted. (Annales du Museum, vol. XIX, p. 123 — 128).

I described in great detail the bones of the face of fishes in my Memoir on the
Structure of the Upper Maxillary Bone. This was read at the Institute in March,
1814, and was published in vol. I. of the Memoirs of the Museum. In the same
volume, pi. 16, I supplied some examples of the varieties of the configuration of
these bones, which were taken from the coryphena, labrus julis, and the razor-fish.
Lastly, in VS17, I published, in my " Regne Animal," three plates of the head of the
cod, in which the whole of the bones have their names respectively.

In 1817 M. Blainville published, in the Philomathic Bulletin, a Memoir on the
Operculum of Fishes, in which he asserted that the preoperculum was the jugal bone,
and that the three other pieces were representatives of those which were found extra
in the lower jaw of the reptiles and birds, as compared with that of the fishes. The
author affirms that he communicated these ideas long before, and he gives them the
date of 1812. But they were instantly refuted by M. Geoffroy, to whom I showed,
amongst my preparations, the jaws of a lepisosteus, quite as complicated as that of
any reptile, yet this fish actually had opercula as perfect as those of any fish.

In 1818 M. Geoffroy, in his Philosophie Anatomique, announced this faet, and at
the same time suggested the notion that the bones of the operculum corresponded
with the four little bones of the ear, that is to say, the operculum with the stapes,
the sub-operculum with the incus, the interoperculum with the malleus, and a fourth,
which is often merely a vestige, to the lenticular (in this country, the orbicular) bones,
whilst the preoperculum would be the frame of the tympanum.

FISHES- 277

The latter system, as in the birds and the greater part of the
reptiles, forms a layer, more or less vertical, articulated by its

In the meau time, some important labours had been carried on in Germany upon
the subject to which our attention had been directed, but little notice was taken of
them by the Parisian anatomists, from a custom which is certainly now decaying.
In 1800 M. Autenrieth published, in the Zootormical Archives of Wiedemann, a
Memoir on the Anatomy of the Pleuronectes, in which he stated many remarkable
points connected with the head of fishes ; he considered the branchiostegal rays to
be the cartilages of the ribs, and that the bony branches which they bore as com-
posed of the os hyoides and some portions of the sternum, &c, an opinion which was
entertained by M. Geoffroy in 1807, and which was the origin of the whole of his
theory of the branchial apparatus, as developed by him in his Philosophic Anatomique.
The operculum, according to M. Autenrieth, is the result of a division of the thyroid
cartilage, &c. ; but this learned physician devoted little attention in his memoir to
the analogy of the bones, with the exception of the apparatus of the tympanum,
which he still refers to the condyloid apophysis of the lower jaw, as H£rissant did in
the case of the square bones of birds.

In 1811 a memoir by M. Rosenthal appeared in the Archives of Physiology of
Reil, on the Skeleton of Fishes ; in this the author described all the bones of the
head with a fidelity and clearness which were quite remarkable, but in which he has
been far less successful as to his investigation of their analogy. According to him, the
bone which is my ethmoid, and my two anterior frontals with my vomer, form the
upper jaw ; my mastoid bones are detached pieces of the parietal bones, my posterior
frontal represents the scaly part of the temporal, and my great ala the petrous
portion. He gives to the anterior sphenoid and to the orbitary wings the names of
the body of the sphenoid and its wings. The sphenoid, properly so called, is desig-
nated by him the bone of the base of the cranium. His conclusions and mine on
the other bones of the cranium completely agree.

With respect to the face, M. Rosenthal has come to no decided inferences. My
intermaxillaries and my maxillaries, according to him, are only divisions of a single
intermaxillary ; he calls a square bone that which I have named the temporal, and
gives to the other bones of the palatine and pterygoid apparatus, only vague names
which do not indicate their analogy.

M. Oken, in a programme of I 807, had considered thatthe cranium was composed of
three vertebrae, and he calls it the head of the head ; the nose was his thorax of the
head, and the jaws he thought represented the arms and the thighs. These com-
parisons made very different impressions on men's minds, and applications of them
were made to fishes.

In 1815 M. Spix, in his work called Cephalogenesis, saw also in the cranium of
the vertebrated animals three vertebrae, but the bones which surround the nose
appeared to him analogous to the hyoid apparatus, and those of the jaws the repre-
sentatives of the anterior and posterior extremities. He there gives figures of the
heads of the pike, of the cod, trout, eel, silurus, and the carp, but he has published
no acanthopterygian. In his system, my ethmoid is the nasal, my anterior frontal
the lachrymal, my anterior sphenoid the ethmoid, my mastoidean the scaly temporal,
my posterior frontal a portion of the jugal, my petrous bone a part of the lateral and
occipital. As to the rest of the bones of the cranium, he concludes as I do. In the
face, he refers the suborbitals to the jugal. My transverse bone and my palatine
form together, according to him, the pterygoid bone, and what I call pterygoid he
designates the true palatine. The other bones of the pterygo-tympanic apparatus
answer in their combination, he says, to the annular portion of the tympanum, but
he recognised, as I do, the intermaxillaries and the maxillaries in the bones com-
monly called the jaws.

It is M. Spix, if I am not mistaken, that first saw the little bones of the ear in
the opercula, but he arranges them differently from M. Geoffroy. According to him,
the preoperculum is the malleus, the operculum is the incus, and the suboperculum
the stapes.

M. Oken, in the Isis, No II, of 1818, has translated my various notes on this

278 FISHES.

postero-superior angle to the side of the cranium, behind the orbit,
and by its anterior one to the anterior part of the cranium on the side

portion, and has copied the figures which I had inserted hoth in the Annales du
Museum and in my Regne Animal.

In No. III. of the same Journal is an arrangement of the bones of the head of
fishes by M. Bojanus, an academician of Petersburgh, accompanied by figures made
on the bream and the pike.

The author differs with me respecting the cranium only by giving a partial assent
to the notion of M. Oken, and makes my anterior frontal the cribriform lamina of the
ethmoid, and of the posterior or scaly temporal bone. He applies inversely, as I do,
the names of the petrous bone and the mastoidean. With respect to the external
occipital, he makes an interparietal bone of it, never remembering that it is always
outside the parietals. My suborbitals form his jugal, and he calls my jugal the
internal pterygoid, my temporal is his chase, my chase is his external pterygoid
apophysis ; he regards the transverse and pterygoid bones as dismemberments of the
palatine. In fine he attempts still to discover the opercula in the pretended pieces
wanting in the low er jaw, an idea which M. Oken admires, and which is nevertheless
merely that of M. Blainville published five or six years before, and already refuted
two years ago by M. Geoffroy.

M. Carus, the same year (1818), in his Zootomy, considers also that the cranium
is a union of three vertebrae, but he sees in the occipital vertebrae only four pieces,
forgetting the superior and external occipitals ; in the sphenoidal only five, never
thinking of the petrous bone ; my mastoideans appear to him to be temporals, my
anterior frontal the cribriform lamina of the ethmoid, my first suborbital the
lachrymal, the others the representatives of the jugal. He admits two or three
palatines, and calls my jugal os discoidien, and vaguely compares those which are
above the square bone, or the ascending branch of the inferior jaw; in short, the
opercula appeared to him to have motion on the branchial apparatus, very nearly
resembling the scapula on the thorax, but he rejects the opinion which makes, of the
hyoid bone and the branchiostigal rays, a combination of the hyoid with parts of the
sternum, and with the sternal coats.

In 1822 M. Bakker, in Osteographia Pisciun, has described the bones of the head
of the eaglefin and the lamprey. My posterior frontal appears to him to be the
petrous bone, as it receives no parts of the ear; my mastoidaen is his temporal ; he
takes my petrous bone for the great wing ; he calls my suborbitals the jugal bone
and the zygomatic bone. With respect to the bones which replace the square bone,
he confines himself to designate them by the names of symplecticum primum,
secundum, &c.

M. Van der Hoeven, who has written in 1822, on the skeleton of the fishes, has
not ventured on determing the bones of the head.

M. Meckel, in the second part of the second volume of his " Comparative Ana-
tomy," printed in 1824, has given page 2, 3, 4, and following a general description
of the bones of the head, with observations on their variations in some fishes. As
far as I can understand his text without the figures, and in which he does not put
everywhere the synonymes of other authors, his distribution only differs from mine
in his considering my great wing as the petrous bone, the orbitar wing as the great
one, and the anterior sphenoid as the orbitar wing ; insomuch, that he makes of my
anterior frontal an appendage to the ethmoid, and refers the posterior to the tem-
poral, and the preoperculum and jugal to the square bone, or to the articular portion
of the temporal, in fine : inasmuch as it is my suborbitars which appear to him to replace
the jugal, besides, he very well marks at what point it is necessary that the number
of pieces should be constant either in the cranium or the lateral apparatus. He
does not speak of the moveable pieces of the operculum.

In fine, M. Geoffroy, in 1824 and 1825, made an arrangement of the hones of
the head of fishes, different from those of the opercula, with which he was much
earlier occupied, and in respect of which he maintains his opinion, that they are the
bones of the ear, he distributes the pieces of the head not into three or four ver-
tebrae like his predecessors, but he sees in and also admits in every other head

FISHES. 279

of the vomer : this anterior extremity partly supports the maxillary
bone ; on the postero-inferior angle is the surface for the articulation
of the lower jaw.

seven other vertebrae, having each a body, a superior annular part composed of four
pieces, and an inferior annular part, also composed of four pieces, nine for each
vertebrae, and sixty three in all. Since that time he has considered each body as
formed itself of four pieces, which makes, in all, eighty four. The following digest is
dated the 12th of December, 1S25, to which are added such reflections as suggested
themselves me.

Every head, according
to M. Geoff roy, is a
combination of seven
vertebrae, each com-
posed of a superior
ring of two pairs of
bones, of one body
without a fellow, and
an inferior ring of two
other pairs of bones,
as follows : —

And these pie
ces, according
to the same au
thor, are re
presented in the
fishes by the
bones to which
I give the fol-
lowing names :

Whereou I make the following
remarks.

On the bones in parti-
cular.

On the whole of each
vertebrae.

FIRST VERTEBRA.

Superior Ring.
The two ethmophysals,
or superior horns of
the nose.

The two rhinophysals
or inferior horns of the
nose.

Body.

The protosphenal, or
cartilage of the nose

The two adnasals, or
intermaxillaries.

Inferior Ring.
The two addental, or
dentary portions of the
maxillaries.

SECOND VERTEBRAE.

Superior Ring.
The two nasal, or pro-
per bones of the nose.
The two lachrymals,
or os unguis.

The proper
bones of the

The oscending
apophyses of
the intermaxil-
lery.

A cartilage
placed between
the pedicels of
the intermaxil-
leries and vo-
mer.

The intermax-
illaries.

The maxillaries

The ethmoid.

These bones always
external in the fishes,
and placed above the
nostrils, cannot be
their horns.
It is very rare that
these apophyses are se
parated by a suture,
and this suture proves
nothing except that the
bones is not constant
The bones would be
much multiplied if all
the inter articular car
tilages are to be called
bones.

The bone which I call
ethmoid is always sim-
ple, and it cannot be
made to represent two
bones, or two nasals,
because it is between
the nostrils and not
above.

This combination of
bones wants the essen-
tial character assigned
by the author to every
vertebrae ; it has no
receptacle for the ner-
vous or sanguineous
system.

This latter vertebrae
has no superior ring,
or, rather, it would be
double, for the eth-
moid would divide it
into two ; further, the
bones which alone can
be supposed to form the

280

FISHES.

The face in fishes is furnished besides with two apparatuses, which
are altogether unknown in the preceding classes of animals ; for no
one, at least, has affected to find them, except through the medium
of analogies, which are exceedingly debateable : the apparatus of

The two lachrymals or
os unguis.

Body.
The rhinosphal,
ethmoidal lamina.

The anterior
frontals.

or The vomer.

Inferior Ring.
The two palatine por-jThe transverse
tions of the maxilla

The two vomerals or
the vomer.

Remarks.

These hones exist in
the crocodiles, in the
tortoises, &c. on the
side of the two lachry*
mals characterized for
such, and cannot be
substituted for them.

Parts supposed jThese bones are purely
to be soldered hypothetic in fish,
to the vomer.

inferior ring are se-
perated from the other
pieces by the pterygoi-
deens.

THIRD VERTEBRAE.

Superior Ring.
The two frontals.

The two palpebral, or
cartilaginous tarsi.

The principal
frontals.

Body.
The Ethmophenal, or
body of the ethmoid ;
the two adorbital, or
obitary portions of the
maxillaries.

Inferior Ring.
The two adorbitals or The first sub ,
orbitary portions of orD jtors.
the Maxillaries.
The two palatals or T1
palatines.

How can the tarsal
cartilages, which are
entirely detached, con-
tribute to the superior
ring which is closed
independently of them?

A cartilage Here, again, is an in-
placed behind jterarticular cartilage
the ethmoid, elevated into a bone.

This vertebrae is still
more disjointed, the
palatines and the first
suborbitals are sepe-
rated from the frontals
by the anterior frontals ;
it is impossible to see
either superior ring or
inferior ring continued.
In the system which
admits but of three
vertebrae, each verte-
brae has the advantage
of being continued.

FOURTH VERTEBRA.

Superior Ring.

The two pt^ral or great
wings of the sphenoid.
The two ingrassian or
orbitary wings of the, wings
sphenoid.

Thegreatwings
The orbitary

Body.

The entosphenal or, The anterior
anterior body of the sphenoid,
sphenoid.

This vertebrae is the
most disjointed of all
for its inferior ring ;
for neither the poste-
rior suborbitors nor
the pterygoidean have
any connexion with the
three bones, they are
quite wide apart.

FISHES. 281

suborbital bones forming a chain which extends from the anterior
frontal to the posterior one, and completing the frame of the orbit
which has been abandoned as it were by both the maxillary and jugal
bones, and assuming the appearance of the jugal, or representing (if
the expression be better liked) the portion of this bone, and that of the
maxillary, which, in the mammalia, were beneath the orbit ; and the

Tbe twojugals or bone
of the pommette.

Inferior Ring.

The two internal pte-
rygoid apophyses.

FIFTH VERTEBRAE.

Superior Ring.

The two parietals.
The two temporals.

Body.

The hyposphenal or
posterior body of the
sphenoid.

Inferior Ring.

The two great tube-
rosities of the circle of
the tympanum.

The two Cotyleaux.

The posterior
suborbitars.

The pt^rygoi-
deans.

Remarks.

Here the author aban-
dons his doctrine of
the identity of the
number of pieces in
which one bone must
be represented but by
onebone. The posterior
suborbitars are some
times very numerous.

The parietals.
The posterior
frontals.

The posterior
sphenoid.

The temporals

The tympanal
and jugal, call-
ed by M. Geof-
frey, epicoty-
leal and hypo-
cotyleal.

In his first essays, M
Geoffroy spoke of •<
symplectic which he
called uro-serrial,
other words, the infe-
rior, thin portion of
the frame of the tym
panum.

Here, again, the au
thor abandons hisiden
tity of the number in
the representatives of
the bones, because, for
the two bones he has
made only one. I
ought to observe, also,
that the cotyleal, or,
in other words, the
case never, as it ap-
pears to me, can be
considered as a differ-
ent bone from the
tympanum, of which
it is only the continua-
tion.

Here the two rings are
also disjointed, the one
from the other ; the
posterior sphenoid has
no connexion either
with the parietals and
the posterior frontals,
or with the temporals,
the chest, and the
jugal.

282 FISHES.

apparatus of opercular pieces, which adheres to the posterior border
of the palatine and pterygoido-tympanal system, protects the branchiae,

SIXTH VERTEBRS6.

Superior Ring.
The two interparietals

The two rocks or pe
trous portions.

Body,

The otosphenal or an-
terior portion of the
basilar.

Inferior Ring.

The inferior parts of

the circle of the tym

panum.

The two mallei.

The inteparie-
tal.

The mastoide-
ans.

The preoper-
cula

The interoper
cula.

SEVENTH VERTEBRAE

Superior Ring.

The two supra-occipi-

tals.

The two ex-occipitals.

The basiphenal or pos-
terior portion of the
basilar.

Body.
The two stapes.

Inferior Ring.
The two incudes. («)

The external
occipitals.
The lateral oc
cipitals.
The basilar.

The opercula.

The sub-oper-
cula.

Remarks.

I have never seen the The superior ring is
interparietal double in also disjointed for the

the fishes.

I have never been able
to detect a transverse
division of tbe basilar.

The interopercula are
attached to the lower
jaw, and take a part
in sustaining the os-
hyoides ; they have no
muscle proper to them
selves. Now, how is
it possible to reconcile
this with the charac
ters of the malleus ?

interparietal and the
mastoideans are not in
contact.

I think I have amply-
refuted the supposi
tioft that the opercular
pieces are bones of the
ear, for I have pur-
sued my enquiry into
the gradually reduced
and simple state of the
apparatus constituted
by these bones from
man to the salaman-
der amongst the rep-
tiles. (See my Re-
searches (b) on Fossil
bones.

All the world knows
that the basilar, the
two latteral occipitals,
and the superior occi-
pital, represent, be-
tween them, a sort of
vertebrae, and this ana-
logy dwelt upon by M.
Dumeril is perhaps all
tyah is true in the ma-
nifold superstructures
which various authors
have built upon it.

0^=* (a) This is the plural of incus, the anvil of the ear. — Eng. Ed.

(b) We are happy to be able to inform the reader, that we shall speedily give
him the opportunity of making this reference to a translation now about to be pub-
lished by the proprietor of the present work.— Eng. Ed

FISHES. 283

and opens or shuts according as the*motion of the water for respira-
tion may require.

Of the Cranium.

It is between these four apparatuses, the maxillary, suborhitar, pte-
rygo-tympanic and opercular, that we find the cranium or cerebral box,
which, as usual, contains the nose and eye in the external fossce, the
of the ear in the internal lateral cavity, and in its general cavity, the
labyrinth brain; this cranium, as in other vertebrated animals, is a
sort of a cage or envelope, composed of pieces which are united,
so as to be immovable, by sutures.

The cranium in the Acanthopterygians may be regarded as the most
correct type, in other words, it is that cranium in which the bony
constituents are most approximated to their complete state, and
themost advanced in their developement respectively : they un-
dergo a variety of modifications in the other orders, but in such a
way as that when once the student establishes in his mind a complete
idea of this primary form, he can always, with the greatest facility,
determine the rest by induction. Between the skulls of the reptiles
and the birds, a striking analog)'' is observed* in both, for it is
by no means difficult to find the whole of the parts, and this will be
manifest to those who will take the trouble of examining with us now
one of the crania ; that of the common perch for example. In the
other acanthopterygians we have the same bones, with the difference
only of proportions between these individual bones and the aggregate
which they compose. This is likewise the reason why we cannot limit
ourselves to a mere generic description of them according to their number,
connexions; and functions, without at all entering into the details of
their figures, which would be only convenient in this single instance,
and, perhaps, would only perplex the other part of the explanation f ,
pi. I. A. the superior face fig. 1. the principal frontal, forming the
arch fig. 1, of the orbit and the anterior portion of that of the cranium.
Both before and behind it there are bones which form the anterior and
posterior pillars of the orbit, and which correspond to the anterior and
posterior frontals of the reptiles.

* It is recommended to the reader to peruse the portion of the chapters in my
work, on the Fossil Bones, where I have described the cranium of the reptiles.

-f- In order to facilitate the study of the osteology of fishes, that of the perchis is
given in all its particulars in plates I, II, III. Plate I, presents the entire
skeleton ; it gives a lateral view of the entire head, and also the apparatus of the
face in their natural situation. Figures I, II, III, IV, of plates II, give the
cranium and the pieces composing it, as seen in fig. I. in a lateral aspect, fig. II.
the upper part, fig. III. the upper part, fig. IV. the hind part. Fig. V. is the
cranium seen from below with one side of the face ; the gills are removed. Fig.
VI. presents, on the contrary, the cranium from which the apparatus of face have
been taken away to show the attachment of the gills and the shoulder. Fig. VII.
is a vertical and longitudinal section of the cranium, the left half being removed to
show the inside part of the right. Fig. VIII. is a vertical and transverse section,
showing its anterior side from within. Fig IX. is the part opposite the same
section, and shows within the posterior side of the cranium. Lastly, the Fig. X. is
a horizontal section, which shows the root of the skull. In all these figures the
same bone has the same number.

284 FISHES.

The anterior frontals, fig. 2, form the pillar of the forepart, allowing
the olfactory nerves to pass hetween them, as in all the animals in
■which these bones exist. The ethmoid, however, fig. 3, forming
at this point a vertical partition between which and the anterior
frontal, the nerve on either side passes by a slight fissure in the latter,
but very often through a hole in the anterior frontal, and not by a
fissure ; still, this bone is not the less capable of being recognised for
what it really is. In the conger and common eel it remains in a
permanent state of cartilage ; if the skeletons be too long macerated,
the bone will disappear. The anterior frontal has an articulating
surface on its inferior edge for the palatine, fig. 22, and frequently, on
the outside of the latter, another for the first suborbital fig. 19*.

The posterior frontal, f. 4, forms the posterior pillar of the orbit,
and co-operates in supplying an articulation to a bone to which I
give the name of temporal, f. 23f.

The axis of the inferior surface is occupied as usual by the basilar, f. 5.
and the sphenoid, f, 6. The latter bone is continued forward, as in the
birds, into a long apophysis which is the base of the interorbital
partition, this partition remaining in the greatest number of fishes,
membranous ^.

Taking these elementary indications for our guide, we come to
conclusions which can be demonstrated very easily in other bones ;
but we also become acquainted with the fact that, as in the birds and
reptiles, their number is not the same as it is in the human foetus, and
■what is more, we shall see that it is not constant either in the various
fishes.

The two parietal bones may be easily distinguished behind the

* M. Spix, in conformity -with his general system, takes the anterior frontal of
the fishes for a lachrymal, and M. Oken for an os planum. We have to apply to
these theories the very same objections as we have given in our asteology of the
crocodile in our work on Fossil Bones. In these animals this bone is situated
beside a cartilaginous ethmoid, which it envelopes, as the anterior part of the frontal
covers the ethmoid in tbe Ruminantia. M. Bojanus, no doubt taking into consider-
ation the aperture which he finds in several fishes for the olfactory nerve, makes of it
a sieve-like lamina from the ethmoid ; but this opinion, which has not the same
ground for support in the whole of the species, is overturned besides by the other
relations which this bone bears to the adjacent ones. Now, with respect to M. Ro-
senthal, who arranges it as a portion of the upper jaw, the only only way in which
I can explain his notion, is to suppose that he did not study the reptiles in which
the anterior frontal is actually detached wholly from the jaw by a lachrymal. M„
Geoffroy and M. Cams, call this bone a lachrymal, as does M. Spix. M. Bakker
adopts my nomenclature, but he denominates the frontal bone the osbital.

-f- Authors differ much on this posterior frontal. According to M. Bosenthal and
M. Bojanus, it is the scaly portion of the temporal ; to M. Spix it is a part of the
jugal ; to Bakker it is the pethous bone. M. Geoffroy takes up the notion of the
first two, and calls thrs bone the temporal.

X Every body seems to be agreed respecting the posterior sphenoid, with the
exception of M. Geoffroy, who makes out in the first a transverse division which I
am utterly unable to detect. He calls the posterior and segment basisphenal, the
anterior ostosphenal ; and the sphenoid hyposphenal. M. Rosenthal gives to the
sphenoid the vain title of bone of the base of the cranium, (in the German grund-
bein). M. Meckel understands tbe reunion of the basilar, the sphenoid, and the
lateral bones which are attached to it.

FISHES. 285

frontal ones, but they touch one another only very rarely ;* almost
always they are separated by means of an azygos bone from which
the occipital spine proceeds vertically, it being very large in a great
number of fishes, and is frequently prolonged anteriorly into a true
sagittal crest. In such a case we are naturally tempted to give to this
azygos bone, the name of interparietal;! but sometimes, as in the
carp for example, the parietals touch one another for a considerable
portion of their length, and then the bone just mentioned, is behind
the parietals, and thus must be considered as a superior occipital : its
function would therefore resemble very much that which belongs to
it in the tortoise. In some fishes, but especially in the family of the
silures, the parietals are wholly absent, and are replaced by this azygos
bone in a very large state of development.

On the sides of the latter, as in the tortoise, there are two pairs of
bones which form the lateral portions of the occiput, these cor-
respond exactly to those, which I have designated in the tortoise, as
the external occipital (No. 9,) and lateral occipital (No. 10.)

It would perhaps be better to call the single bone of which I have
spoken, the interparietal, in which case, the two external occipitals
might be regarded, as a superior occipital divided into two ;t they
both form the summit of the first lateral ridge of the cranium, that
which I call intermediate, to which one of the apophyses of the supra
scapular is attached. On the inside of the cranium, the lateral occi-
pital (No. 10,) often furnishes a lamina, which unites with its fel-
low, to form a roof for the sacs in which the stones of the ear are en-
closed. It sometimes presents a singular conformation, in the carp,
being pierced with a large hole.

The basilar or inferior occipital (No. 5) occupies its usual place,
and the articular facet forming a hollow cone, by which the head is
attached to the body of the first vertebra, entirely belongs to it; but
the other two small facets, which, in a great number of species con-
verge to the articulation of the head with the articular facets of this
vertebra, belong to the lateral occipitals (No. 10.)

Before the lateral and inferior occipital, from each side of the
noid arises the great or temporal tving, which always unites by suture
to the posterior frontal (No. 4) J and furnishes conjointly with it, an
articular facet to the temporal bone. The two last branches of the
fifth pair pass through a hole or fissure of this piece. In the inside of
the cranium, this great wing often gives anteriorly a roof to the pitui-
tary gland in the same manner as the lateral occipitals cover the
stones of the ear.

* It would appear now that at last all the world, with even M. Geoffroy at the
fag-end, is agreed respecting the parietals.

■f M. Geoffroy has decided by giving also to this the name of interparietal, and I
am not aware of any person who does not coincide in its propriety.

X M. Geoffroy has also adopted this determination, he calls these two pair of
bones, the superoccipital, and exoccipital. M. Bojanus calls the external occipital,
interparietal.

| M. Geoffroy who has at length adopted the same determination, calls it ptereal.
All uaturalists are now agreed respecting this bone, with the exception of M. Rosen-
thal and M. Meckel, who look upon it as the petrous bone.

286 FISHES.

To complete the posterior and superior lateral angle of the cranium,
one, and sometimes, two bones are always found, on each side, between
the posterior frontal, the frontal, the parietal, the internal occipital,
the lateral occipital and the great wing ; the first, (No. 12), is mani-
festly the same as that which I have called mastoidean in the croco-
dile and tortoise. f It contributes with the posterior frontal, and
sometimes with the great wing to form the articular surface of the first
bone of the palatine, and tympanic apparatus, that bone which I
have called the temporal. This mastoidean bone, in fishes, is pro-
longed into an apophysis more or less prominent, forming the summit
of what I call the external ridge of the cranium, and gives attachment
to one of the apophyses of the superior bone of the shoulder or supra-
scapular.

AVhen there are only two of these to complete the angle of the cra-
nium, a disposition which obtain almost always in the Acanthoptery-
gians, the only name I can find for the second, (No. 13) is that of
the petrous bone. It is in general small, and placed between
the mastoidean, the lateral occipital and the great wing ; sometimes
it is very large, and descends as low as the inferior occipital and the
sphenoid^ as in the cod ; it is also often entirely wanting, as in the
pike, carp, and eel.

In front of the great wing, but somewhat higher, a piece (No. 14)
which may be called the orbitary wing is dove-tailed with the great
wing, and with the posterior frontal, and frontal. § Between this
and its fellow, the olfactory nerves pass above, and the optic nerves
below ; they both unite, sometimes as in the carp, thus forming a roof
over the optic nerves.

Below, and in front of the orbitary wings, a single bone is found,
(No. 15), it is most commonly implanted by a solitary lamina on the
sphenoid, it bifurcates above to join, sometimes the two orbitary
wings, sometimes the two great wings, it also sometimes remains sus-
pended in the interorbitary membrane, which unites all these parts !
This is an anterior sphenoid, very analagous, as in the pike, to what
obtains in the lizards ;|| but sometimes as in the cyprins, and the sil-
ures, this bone is large, and is united not only to the sphenoid and or-
bitary wing, btit to the frontal, and anterior frontal ; in this case, it

•f- M. Geoffroy at present calls my mastoidean, theprerupeal, and my petrous bone,
the postupeal, and considers both as parts of it* M. Spix regards it as the scaly
temporal, and a part of the lateral occipital. M. Bojanus gives them names, the
inverse of mine. M. Bakker thinks my mastoidean is the temporal. M. Meckel
alone agrees with me, in regarding it as a substitute for the mastoid apophyses.

X It is the petrous bone of the eglefin which M. Bakker has taken for the great
■wing of the sphenoid, of which it has in reality the appearance in the cod species. M.
Meckel points out this bone, but does not determine it.

§ M. Geoffroy who has adopted my determination, call this piece ingrassial. M.
Rosenthal calls it simply the wing of the sphenoid. M. Meckel looks upon it as
the great wing.

|| According to M. Rosenthal, it is this bone that forms the body of the sphenoid;
according to M. Spix, it is the ethmoid. M. Meckel makes of it the orbitary icing.
M. Geoffroy adopts my determination, and calls it the entosphenul bone.

FISHES. 287

replaces entirely the interorbitary membrane by a continuation of the
cavity of the cranium, which extends as far as between the anterior
frontalis. In others, the scicena for instance, the interorbitary mem-
brane is more or less ossified by productions of the sphenoid, or of the
anterior frontals, or even of the ethmoid, which extends into the mem-
brane. In some fishes, in fine, the anterior sphenoid is entirely
wanting, all this part being membranous.

This point settled, it only remains to determine the two bones that
form the anterior end of the cranium, one above, the other below.
The under one, No. (16), is continuous with the sphenoid; the upper
one with the frontals and anterior frontals ; moreover, they are joined
to each other vertically, and the cavities of the nostrils are situated at
their sides, so that they form together the partition. The under one
is often furnished with teeth on its inferior surface. I do not hesitate
to regard this as the vomer, and the other the ethmoid, that is to say,
what is called the vertical lamina of this bone in the mammalia. All
their connexions confirm this determination. f

It sometimes happens, as in the conger, and the common eel, that
the ethmoid and vomer form but one bone.

Thus the cranium of fishes, when its pieces are complete is com-
posed of twenty-six bones, vid. six azygos, the basilary (No. 5), the
principal sphenoid (No. 6), the anterior sphenoid (No. 15), the
vomer (No. 16), the ethmoid (No. 3), and the interparietal or supe-
rior occipital (No. 8) • and 20 pairs : the principal frontal (No. 1),
the anterior frontals (No. 2), the posterior frontals (No, 4), the
parietals (No. 7), the mastoideans (No. 12), the external occipitals
(No. 9), the lateral occipitals (No. 10), the petrous bones (No. 13),
the great wings (No. 11), and the orbitary wings (No. 14).

To finish the description of the exterior of the cranium, it should
be observed, that it generally presents, behind the occiput, five pro-
minent points, which are often prolonged anteriorly or posteriorly
into ridges ; the middle one of these corresponds to the spine of the
occiput ; it belongs to the interparietal, and often extends forwards
over the suture of the frontals, and backwards on that of the lateral
occipitals : the spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae follow in its
suite, and are attached to it by a ligament analagous to the cervical
ligament of quadrupeds. The second which I call intermediate,
there being one on cither side, each runs on the external occipital, and
is prolonged forward on the parietal, and sometimes on the frontal of
each side. It is to its prominent extremity that the superior branch
of the superior bone of the shoulder which I call superscapular, is
attached. Lastly, the third ridge, which I call external, belongs to
the mastoidean bone, and is prolonged forward on the posterior fron-
tal, and on the side of the principal frontal, and backwards on the
petrous bone, and lateral occipital ; to its posterior extremity which

2d. f With my ethmoid, two anterior frontals and vomer, M. Rosenthal forms what
he calls, the upper jaw. M. Spix regards my ethmoid as the nasal. M. Geoffroy
adopts my determination respecting it, and call it the eifhmosphenal ; but he considers
my vomer as the vertical lamina of the ethmoid, and calls it rhinosphenul. M. Bak-
ker and M. Meckel agree with me as to both these bones.

288 FISHES

belongs to the mastiodean is attached the second, and sometimes the
only branch of the super-scapular bone, whose third branch, when it
exists, is attached more deeply. Under this third ridge, in a fossa
scooped under the mastoidean and anterior frontal, the palatine and
temporal apparatus are articulated posteriorly, by means of the bone
which I call the temporal; it is also from this ridge, that the ridge
which goes to form the post-orbitar apophysis of the posterior frontal,
is commonly detached.

The existence, or absence of these prolongations, and their greater
or less extent have considerable influence over the particular form of
each cranium, and even on that of the whole body of the fish ; thus
fishes whose bodies are compressed, and whose backs are raised much
above the head, present the middle ridge much elevated also, and the
laterals in proportion ; on the other hand, in fishes whose heads are
depressed, and bodies round, these ridges are effaced, or are reduced
to spinous elevations which are found only at the occiput and from
before backwards. When the cranium is both large and flat, the ex-
ternal ridges usually form its lateral edges. The arches more or
less large, more or less concave, which are sometimes found on the
sides of the cranium, as in the cyprius and certain silures, may be
classed amongst the most remarkable conformations ; yet their forma-
tion depends simply on the greater degree of prominence of some of
the parts we have enumerated, or on their union with each other by
one or two more sutures, as we shall have occasion to observe in the
sequel. It may be therefore affirmed in general, that in bony fishes,
whatever be the variations in the general form of their cranium, its
composition is nevertheless almost constant, and that the exceptions
to this rule, although pretty certain, are by no means numerous.

Fossa? of the Cranium.

The superior arch of the great cerebral cavity is formed by the
posterior part of the frontals, the parietals, the interparietal, and the
external occipital. The posterior frontals and the mastoidean form
part of its lateral walls. The orbitary wings are at each side of its
anterior wall. The floor is formed by the superior branches of the
anterior sphenoid, and by the great wing ; lastly, this cavity termi-
minates posteriorly in a canal, which is entirely surrounded by the
lateral occipital. This canal, strictly speaking, forms the posterior
fossa. The anterior fossa is most commonly altogether membranous ;
its place in the skeleton is marked by a large hole, limited laterally by
the orbitary wings, above by the frontals, and below by the bifurca-
tion of the anterior sphenoid. There are however some kinds, such
as the cyprins and silures, in which, as has been already said, the or-
bitary wings, and a very large anterior sphenoid unite to furnish, in all
its parts, the anterior fossa with bony walls, excepting the orifices
necessary for the transmission of vessels and nerves.

The middle fossa is limited in front by a transverse crest of the
orbitary wing, and behind by another, which exists on the internal
surface of the great wing, and of the posterior frontal. These two
crests are joined behind. At the bottom of this fossa, behind the
bifurcated part of the anterior sphenoid, and sometimes, as in the

FISHES, 289

carp, behind the union of the orbitary wings, there is a hole lead-
ing into a large canal, which is situated behind under the middle
posterior fossa, surrounded superiorly and laterally by lamina of the
great wing, inferiorly by the sphenoid, and terminating in a funnel in
the basilar. In front it lodges the pituitary gland, and gives passage
into the cranium to the vertebral arteries. The existence of this
cavity is not constant ; for instance, it is wanting in the cod, whose
pituitary gland is but slightly encated.

The cavities of the ear lie between the middle and posterior fossa.
In the quadrupeds, these cavities are enveloped in the petrous bone, and
form a prominence in the interior ; in birds and reptiles, they occupy
several of the neighbouring bones ; and in bony fishes they commu-
nicate openly with the cranium. These cavities consist, 1st. of two
great fossa scooped out beneath the cavity in which the brain is
lodged, and are prolonged to the sides of the posterior fossa : they are
surrounded by the great wing, the lateral occipital and the basilary,
and serve to lodge the sacs containing the large stones of the ear.
2d. of different depressions which occupy the lateral posterior angle of
the cranium, extending into the external occipital, the mastoidean, the
lateral occipital, and even a little into the parietal, the posterior fron-
tal, and the great wing, and serve for the lodgement of the semi-circu
lar canals.

Foramina of the Cranium.

According as the closure of the cranium in front is more or less
complete, there are varieties, not precisely in the holes which pierce
this cavity, but in the mode in which they are surrounded by the
bones. Thus in most of the acanthopterygians, and in the perch,
which we take as a type, the olfactory and optic nerves, and those of
the third and fourth pairs merely pass through the membrane which
closes the large opening situated in front, between the frontals, the
orbitary wings, and the anterior sphenoid. The same obtains in
the cod, in which, moreover, the fifth pair passes through a fissure
only, of the anterior edge of its great wing ; whilst in the perch, not
only is there in the middle of this great wing holes for the branches
of the fifth pair, but one near its edge for the sixth. The eight pair
passes out by two holes through the side of the lateral occipital ; and
the tenth by one in its superior surface, not far from the occipital
hole.

In the bony sculls, we may also observe certain solutions of con-
tiuuity, which in the fresh state, are only closed by membranes or
cartilages ; thus the perch and several other acanthopterygians have a
remarkable one on each side, between the parietal, the mastoidean, and
the external occipital ; it is likewise seen in the pike, which also
possesses another between the posterior frontal, the great wing, and the
mastoidean ; it is even in the middle of this cartilage in the pike, that
we find suspended a very small vestige of the petrous bone.

We have already spoken of the very large hole in each lateral
occipital of the cyprins. These,, fishes have a small azygos bone, be-
tween the parietals and the interparietal ; some of the silures present

VOL. II. u

290 FISHE6.

a slit in this situation, and another more in front between the two
frontals, &c.

Upper Jaw.

To recognize easily the intermaxillaries and the maxillaries , they
should be seen in the salmon, or in trouts properly so called.* In
such fishes, these bones are situated in Hie same manner as in all the
mammalia i nd reptiles ; the intermaxillaries (No. 17) on the front of
the jaw. having little mobility ; the maxillnrics (No. 18) at the sides as
far as the commissure, armed with teeth, which continue the series of
those of the intermaxillaries. On each side, within the maxillary
teeth, there is another series of teeth belonging to the palate, as in
serpents, and in the middle there is a band of them, adhering to the
longitudinal hone, which is, as we have remarked, analogous to the
vomer. This structure obtains in the smelts, the graylings or cor-
regoni, and throughout the entire family of the herrings. In the
polypteus, the resemblance to the mammalia and reptiles goes still
farther ; its maxillaries and intermaxillaries are immoveably attached
to the rest of the head.

There are structures more or less analogous in other different kinds,
but in the greater number of fishes, as in the cyprins, and almost all
the acanthopterygians, the intermaxillary (No. 17) forms almost the
whole of the edge of the superior jaw, and is moved by causing one
ascending apophysis to glide before the anterior extremity of the
cranium, which extremity is formed, as we have said, by two bones
analogous to the ethmoid (No. 3,) and vomer (No. 16). The maxil-
lary (No. 18) is placed parallel to the intermaxillary, and forms what
is commonlv called the labiod bone* On account of its being sometimes
covered With a fold of skin representing a lip, or the mystachial bone,
from its representing a sort of moustache, and from this bone being
sometimes prolonged into a little fleshy barb or true moustache, as is
seen particularly in the silures. This maxillary bone (No. 18) is
joined by moveable articulations to the intermaxillary (No. 17), to a
prominent facet of the vomer (No. 16,) and to a slightly curved
apophysis of the palatine bone (No. 22.) It is thus that the inter-
maxillary, the maxillary and palatine bones, with the apparatus
attached to this last, are moved on each other, and on the cranium.
The maxillary (No. 18) is sometimes subdivided into two or three
pieces, as in the herrings, or even into a much greater number as in the
lepisi;steus. The ascending apophysis of the intermaxillary (No. 17)
is sometimes distinguished from the rest of its body by a suture :f an

* These parts in the trout are represented pi. iii. fig. v. with the same numbers as
in the figures taken from the perch ; the entire face of the latter is represented in
situation, pi. iii. fig. i. and all the bones detached from each other fig. ii.

t I thought for some time that the labial bone corresponded to the juiral.
M. Fischer seems to regard it in the same light in his treatise on the intermaxillary
bone, in which he considers the anterior extremity of the cranium as corresponding .
to the upper jaw. M. Rosenthal adopts the ideas of M. Fischer on this latter point,
but thinks that the labial is but a dismemberment of the intermaxillary. In 1811,
I recognized the labiai for what it really is, by observing it in the trouts, and I find
that this opinion has been since adopted by all the osteologists except M. Rosenthal.
It is, indeed, evident to any person who commences the; study of this bone in the
trout, and other species, in which it forms part of the edge of the jaw.

FISHES. 291

instance of this is seen in the Polyprion.* The cyprins have something
more particular in three small bones, placed between those of the jaw
and cranium, of which we shall speak in another place.

The form of the snout in fishes depends generally on that of the
intermaxillaries, sometimes flat horizontally, or compressed on the
sides ; sometimes obtuse or rounded; sometimes advanced beyond the
mouth, presenting a prominence more or less salient, and sometimes
even enormous, as in the xiphias ; sometimes prolonged with the
lower jaw to a sort of beak, as in the gar fish. It is more particularly
on the length of these ascending pedicles, and of the intermaxillaries,
that the greater or less protractibility of the mouth depends, that is, of
the power which the fish possesses of projecting it suddenly beyond the
snout ; but all these circumstances, of which we speak, when treating
of each kind, have no influence on the composition of these parts.

The Nasal, Suborbital- and Super temp oral Bones.

The nasal, suborbital' and supertemporal apparatus in fishes varies
the most, as to the number of pieces composing it. The first subor-
bitar (No. 19,) the boldest in general as to form articulates with a
facet of the inferior external apophysis of the anterior frontal; a cir-
cumstance which might cause it to be regarded as analogous to the
lachrymal, f It forms the external or inferior border of the cavity of
the nostril, whilst the internal or superior border is formed by the
nasal (No. 20,)|. which articulating above with the frontal (No. 1,)
descends along the anterior ridge of the ethmoid (No. 3,) and with its
inferior part sometimes covers the junction of the palatine (No. 22)
with the maxillary (No. 18), and of the maxillary with the intermax-
illary (No. 17.) To this first suborbital - (No. 19) is united a chain
of bones, varying in size and number (No. 19,) || which terminates
in an attachment to the posterior frontal (No. 4) after surrounding
the inferior half of the orbit. At most this chain of small bones
might be said to represent that portion of the jugal bone, which occu-
pies the same situation in a great number of animals ; it even some-
times happens that a part of these bones gives off a lamina, which
passing under the orbit, forms an incomplete roof. These bones
constitute a cuirass for the jaw, the crotaphite, and the neighbouring
muscles in certain fishes, the gurnards, the scorpens, certain sal-
mons, &c, ; other small bones are not unfrequently found in their
suite, forming a similar chain behind on each side (No. 21) between
the external apophysis and the intermediate apophysis of the cranium,
and covering the articulation of the superscapulary bone (No. 46),

* It is this apophysis thus separated that Mr. Geoffroy takes for the inferior
horn of the nose, and which he calls rhinosphenal.

-f- This is the adorbital or orbitary portion of the maxillary of M. Geoffroy, M. M.
Spix, Bojanus, Bakker, and Meckel refer it, as well as the succeeding ones, to the
jugal. M. Carus to the lachrymal. I am induced to consider this apparatus as dif-
fering from th*ose of other vertebrae, on account of its covering the muscles, instead
of giving attachment to them.

X This is the ethmophysal or superior horn of the nose of M. Geoffroy.

|| These are the jugals of M. Geoffroy.

u2

292 FISHES.

with these two apophysis ;* the latter are at all events most certainly
peculiar to fishes, nor can we perceive where it would be possible to
discover any thing analogous in other classes, we shall call them
supertemporals.

Palatine Arch, or Palato Pterygoid, and Temporal System]

This system is composed of seven pieces on each side. It compre-
hends clearly the palatine in front, (No. 22), the temporal behind
(No. 23), but as to the rest, its composition cannot be well explained,
without including in it, the pterygoi&lean, the transverse of reptiles, and
and the jugal; but it is very difficult to apply these names, even sup-
posing that their application can be made with any degree of veri-
similitude.

As far as the palatine (No. 22) is concerned, these difficulties do
not exist, for it is situated as it is in serpents, and is even frequently
furnished with teeth.

There are two bones behind the palatine, one of which, (No. 24),
narrow and arched, forms the external border ; the other large, fiat,
and thin, forms the middle and internal part of this portion of the ap-
paratus. It is natural to think that these are the analagous bones, the
former (No. 24), to that which I have called the transverse in those
reptiles, and the latter (No. 25), to the internal pterygoidean ; the
situation of the latter, (No. 25), seems to indicate its name ; the for-
mer, (No, 24), also is situated much in the same manner as the trans-
verse ; but it is not articulated with the maxillary, this bone being
freer in its movements, than that of lizards, and it is attached in a
different direction to the jugal, (No. 26), because this bone is situated
much farther back. J

For reasons which shall be deduced by and bye, I take for the
jugal a large and usually triangular bone, (No. 26), situated behind
this transverse, and furnishing by means of a gynglimoid facet of its
inferior angle, the articulation to the lower jaw.

* M. Bakker who seems to me to be the only anatomist who lias distinguished
these small bones, calls them super temporals. We adopt this name.

f In the IX Volume of the Memoirs of the Museum, page 6, M. Geoffroy gives
drawings of the palato temporales laminne of the Codfish, and the Merrse,but without
explanation, At a later period, in 1S24, and 1S25) he gave another which is nearly
the same as mine, except that he makes of my jugal and tympanal, his hypocotyleal,
and epycotyleal ; he regards them, therefore, as dismemberments of one bone of the
case, which bone he considers to be distinct from the three pieces, which, according
to M. Serres, compose the circle of the tympanum ; of my temporal and preoper-
cula, he makes his serrial and his tympanal ; which means that they represent two
parts of the frame of the tympanum ; lastly, he calls the seventh bone, the uro-serrial,
by which he means to compare it with the slender piece, which according to M. Ser-
res forms a third piece for the circle of the tympanum.

J M. M. Bakker and Meckel come to the same conclusion as I do on these bones :
M. Geoffroy also agrees with us ; M. Bojanus regards them as separated members of
the palatine ; M. Cams seems to entertain the same idea ; M. Spix names my ptery-
goid the palatine ; and he also considers the transverse and the palantine as forming
together the pterygoidean.

FISHES. 293

Above this bone, and behind the pterygoid there is another large
and flat bone (No. 27,) and above the latter, a large one (No. 23,)
the same which I have already named temporal; it is articulated by
a gynglimus with the two bones of the cranium, which we have men-
tioned as corresponding to the posterior frontal (No. 4,) and the
mastoidean (No. 12). This temporal furnishes behind an articular
tubercle to the principal piece of the opercule (No. 28,) and gives
inferiorly an attachment to a bony stile (No. 29,) which supports the
branch of the oshyoides, and which represents the styloid bone in the
mammalia.

Behind these three pieces, runs lengthwise the bone (No. 30)
which serves as a fixed border for the motions of the opercule; I
have named it the preopereule. But there is still between the flat
intermediary bone and the preopercule another long narrow bone
(No. 31,) which passes partly behind that to which the mandible is
articulated, and which forms an angle with the styloid.

It may be remembered that in birds, the bone which I have called
the square bone, and which I consider analogous to the caisse, is arti-
culated on one side with the cranium, on the other with the internal
pterygoid and the jugal, and gives attachment below to the lower jaw.
The functions of that bone are here performed by the four bones just
described, not including the preoperculum ; but these four bones are
not on this account, dismemberments of the caisse, on the contrary,
three of them join it, to assist in some measure in filling up the large
space, which was here necessary between the temple and the lower
jaw for lodging the branchial apparatus. I believe that I have
been enabled to determine them properly by comparisons with lizards
and frogs. In lizards, the iguana for instance, or the monitor, the bone
which I have thought proper to regard as analogous to the scaly tem-
poral, is articulated with the posterior frontal, and the mastoidean ;
and to it, is chiefly suspended, the tympanal or bone of the caisse.
Let it be supposed that this bone acquired mobility, that it moves on
the two bones to which it is immoveably articulated, it will corres-
spond to the upper one of the bones we are now examining (No. 23)
that which unites the palatine and pterygoid apparatus to the cra-
nium. This bone, as I have said, would therefore be the temporal.*
On the other hand, we have seen in frogs| a jugal and a zygomatic
evidently recognizable, passing from the maxillary to the lower part
of the tympanal, and sharing in the articulation of the lower jaw, in
which it somewhat reminds us of what occurs in the kangaroo. Let
us suppose it to supersede the tympanal of this articulation, in the
same manner as the tympanal supersedes the scaly temporal in the
other oviparous animals, that it takes entirely to itself, and on the
other hand, that it abandons the superior maxillary, retaining no
attachment whatsoever with it, we shall then have our inferior hone
of the apparatus in fishes (No. 26), that which presents a facet to the
for the articulation of the lower jaw. This bone would then be, as I have

* This is the serrial of M. Geoffroy, the sympleclicum primum of M. Bakker, the
square bone of M. Rosenthal, the caisse of M. Bojuims.
T See my researches on fossil bones.

294 FISHES.

just stated, the jugal which I consider it to be, notwithstanding all
the singularity, of its change of place and functions.* The thin flat
piece (No. 27) situated between the temporal and jugal, will then no
longer represent the body of the tympanal, or caisse deprived of its
articular facets, because it is no longer required to concur in deter-
mined motions which are provided for in its stead, by the two
bones which are attached to it above aud below ; it is also reduced to
a flat disk, because it is no longer required to contain either the
cavity of the caisse, or the small bones of the ear.f

We have remaining the seventh bone (No. 31) that which is
partly concealed behind the internal surface of the jugal ; I can find
nothing analogous to it in reptiles ; for I do not consider as such, the
bone which forms a slender column in the lizards ; this bone, there-
fore, I shall call the $ymplectic.\

These seven bones are joined together, and to the preoperculum by
synchondrosis, and have little or no motion on each other ; but to-
gether they form a large lamina, Avhich moves Avith facility on the
two hinges furnished to it by the anterior articulation of the palatine
(No .22,) with the maxillary (No. 18,) with the vomer (No. 3,) and the
superior articulation of the temporal (No. 23,) with the posterior
frontal (No. 4,) the mastoidean (No. 12,) and with the great wing
(No. 11). This movement separates the lower borders of the lamina
from each other, and Avidens the mouth, when the fish takes in the
water necessary for its respiration; the contrary movement forces the
water out.

Opercular Bones.}]

The preoperculum (No. 30)§ is a bone commonly of a square form,
which surrounds the posterior border, and the angle of the great
palato-temporal lamina described above, and belongs to this lamina
rather than to the opercular system itself. Its form, and the indenta-
tions or spines, with which its border or angle are often armed vary
much ; and as these variations are visible externally, they have
afforded proper characters for the distinction of fishes.

The principle piece of the operculum ^f to which I leave this name
exclusively (No. 28,) is situated behind the ascending border of this
preoperculum, and moves on it as the fold of a door on its hinge; but
at its upper anterior angle, the operculum presents a small dimple

* This is] the hypocofyleal of M. Geoffroy, the os 'cUswidevm of M. Carus, the
internal pterygoid of M. Bojanus, the sympleetieum quantum of M. Bakker.

f This is the epicotyleal of M. Geoffroy, the sympleetieum tcrtium of M. Bakker,
the external pterygoid apophysis of M. Bojanus

X This is the uro-serial of M. Geoffroy, the sympleetieum secundum of M. Bakker,
the styloid of M. Meckel. The other anatomists seem to have neglected this piece,
which is not very apparent.

|| For all that concerns the skeleton of the respiratory apparatus of fishes. M.
Geoffroy's, where Anatomical Philosophy may be usefully consulted, in which the
parts of this apparatus are described with great care, and represented very faithfully,
although the author's theory is, ia my opinion, very far from satisfactory.

§ The tympanal of M. Geoffroy, the mallei's of M. Spix.

^ The stapeal of M. Geoffroy, the mens of M. Spix, the operculum of all other
anatomists.

which articulates, by diarthrosis, with a convex tubercle presented to
it by the temporal (No. 23).

Under the posterior and inferior borders of the operculum, there is
another osseous piece (No. 32,) which I call the sub-operculum,* and
in front of it, under the inferior border of the preoperculum, and behind
the articulation of the lower jaw, there is a third (No. 33,) which I
call the interoperculum.\ This interoperculum is of particular impor-
tance, on account of the attac'inimt it furnishes to the branch of the
oshyoides at the place where it is itself attached to the styloid, which
suspends it to the temporal, from this it results that the opercular
lids can neither open nor close, without the branches of the oshyoids
executing a corresponding movement.

Amongst the common bony fishes, this sort of moving lid which
opens and closes the branche, is almost always composed of the
three pieces just described.

We have seen that several ingenious anatomists have imagined
them to represent the small bones of the ear in Mammalia ; but besides
the arguments, which in another work J we have deduced from the
successive simplification of the apparatus of these small bones, and
their final reduction to a single bone in the last of the batrachian rep-
tiles, the more we examined the opercular pieces the more we shall
be convinced, that they do not present the slightest relation with these
small bones, either in their connexion with each other, in the con-
nexion with other bones, or in the muscles which put them in
motion.

The Lower Jaw.

The lower jaw is formed of two branches joined together in front,
each articulated behind, by a hollow facet with the pully which ter-
minates the jugal (No. 26) of its side. In the majority of fishes,
when they have attained a certain size each of these branches is
composed of two principal bones; the dentary (No. 34) || to the
superior borders of which the teeth adhere and the Articular (No.
35§ to which the facet for articulation belongs. They unite chiefly by
a point of the latter, which penetrates into a re-entering angle of the
former. A third smaller bone (No. 36) is frequently detached from
the posterior angle under the articular, and may be called the angular*^
and sometimes a fourth is found (No. 37) at the internal surface
of the articular ; it corresponds to the opercular in reptiles.** It is
only in a few fishes, the lepisosteus for example that the same bones are
clearly found, as in the lower jaw of crocodiles, tortoises, and lizards.
The fact, however, will not suffice to sustain M. Blainville's opinion,
too readily adopted by M. M. Bojanus and Oken, who supposes,

* The malleal of M. Geoffroy.

f The inceal of M. Geoffroy, the stapes of M. Spix.

X Researches on fossil hones.

|| The subdental of M. Geoffroy.

§ The submalleal of M. Geoffrey.

f The subcotyleal of M. Geoffroy.

** The submoveral of M. Geoffrov.

296 FISHES.

that, when these bones are wanting they are transformed into oper-
cular pieces.

The under jaAvs of fishes do not vary less in their forms, and are no
less constant in their composition than the crania, and upper jaws ; at
one time perfectly transver, at another parabolic, or rounded in front,
now forming an angle more or less acute, their symphisis is sometimes
prolonged into a thin sharp point, as in the gar fish; and again as in
the hemiramphe this point is prolonged, far beyond the upper jaw.
The inverse, however, more commonly occurs.

In resuming the account of the bones of the face, we find eighteen
or nineteen pairs constant, vid. one at the nasals, two at the upper
jaw, seven in the palato-temporal apparatus, four in the opercular
apparatus, and four or even five in the lower jaw, to which must be
added the suborbitars, and the supertemporals, which in the perch
form eight other pairs; and adding to these the bones of the cranium,
we shall find for the whole head, a total of nearly sixty bones or
thereabouts ; but the subdivisions to which the superior maxillary is
liable sometimes materially augment this number.

The Os Hyoides and Branchiostegal Rays, (a)
The three opercular pieces alone do not close up the great slit,
one each side between the head and shoulder of the fish where
the branchies are lodged ; the closure is completed by the branchi-
ostegal membrane which adheres to the os hyoides. This bone
(pi. III. fig. vi. and vii) situated as in the other classes of verte-
brated animals, but always suspended to the temporal, is com-
posed of two branches consisting each of five pieces, vid. the
small styloid (No. 29) which suspends it to the temporal* two
large lateral pieces (Nos. 37 and 38) placed one behind the other,
and forming the principal body of the branch (it is the posterion of
the two (No. 38) f that is attached to the interoperculum) ; and lastly
two small ones (Nos. 39 and 40) placed one above the other at the
anterior extremity of the branch, and serving to join it with its
fellow.;]; The lingual bone (No. 41) is placed in front of this junc-
tion, as in birds and reptiles, and behind in the angle fo:med by the
meeting of the two branches, and beneath the branchies, there is an
azygous piece usually vertical (No. 42) which represents the tail of
the hyoides, so well known in birds and lizards. |] It is this piece,
which, by joining itself to the symphisis of the numerals forms
the isthmus which separates below the two openings of the ear.
The os hyoides of fishes forms the total number of twelve bones.

* The style-hyal of M. Geoffroy.

t M. Geoffroy who thinks these two principal pieces are derived from the Sternum,
calls the anterior hyo-sternal, and the posterior hi/posternal.

X The superior of these two small pieces is called by M. Geoffroy apo-hyal, and
the inferior the cerato-hyal, because he considers them as answering to the two first
pieces of the anterior horn of the os hyoides in Mammalia.

|| It is this azygous vertical piece, that M. Geoffroy regards as analogous to the
anterior azygous apophysis of the sternum in birds, and on which account he calls
it episternal, but the episternal of birds is always situated behind the fmirchette which
is their small clavicle.

(a) A side view of the os hyoides, is represented pi. II. fig. vi., and plate III.
fig. i. ; and a view from above, with the bones of the branchiae, pi. III., fig. vi.

FISHES, 297

The Radys (No. 43) which sustain the branchiostegal membrane,
adhere by moveable articulation, often by simple ligaments, to the
lower border of the two principal pieces of each branch,* the anterior
are generally articulated to the border; the posterior are scare ly
more than attached to the external surface, near the border. Their
number and forms vary much; in the carp there are only three, and
in elops there are more than thirty ; the most common number
at least in the aeanthopterygians is seven, as in the perch.

This os hyoides can be raised and depressed, and carries with it the
branchi, and even the lower jaw. When drawn by the widening of
the palato temporal lamina, it can also render the angle of its branches
more open, and thus enlarge, in concert with the operculum, the
opening of the gills. The radys attached to it, have also their particular
movements of widening and closing, and extend or fold the membrane
which they support.

The Bones which support the Branchi.^

Fishes only breath by forcing out at the sides of their necks the
water which they take in at their mouths ; it thus passes between
the branchi, which are a sort of comb, in general four at each side,
formed of a great quantity of their narrow, forked, membranous or
cartilaginous laminae, placed in fishes after one another. These
four pairs of branchi, are supported by four pairs of arches, adhering
by their inferior extremities to the two sides of a chain of intermedi-
ate small bones, which chain is attached in front in the angle of the
os hyoides, between the four anterior pieces and above its tail. These
same arches become curved as they ascend, - and fix their other
extremity under the cranium, by cellular tissue, or ligamentous attach-
ments only.

The intermediate chain of small bones forms a sort of continuation
to the lingual bone. In general there are threes of these small bones;
the first (No. 53)§ is attached in the bottom of the angle formed by
the branches of the os hyoides ; the second (No. 54 (a) is behind the
first, and affords attachment to the first pair of arches ; the third
(No. 55 (6) and last, gives attachment to the second pair ; the third
pair of arches adheres to its extremity, and the fourth is attached in
the angle of the third ; lastly the inferior pharyngians are attached in
the angle of the fourth.

The arches are composed, each of two parts, which are moveable
on one another. The inferior is that which is attached to the inter-
mediate chain of small bones, and in the three first pairs, is formed
of two pieces, one internal shorter(c) (No. 57) the other external(d)
longer (No. 58) ; in the latter pair there is but one piece (No. 60).

* These are the sternal ribs of Mr. Geoffroy.

f There is a view from above of the bones of the branchi, and the pharyngeans
•with the os hyoides, and in their natural position represented in pi. III. fig. vi. ;
and those of one side with the two parts of their arches extended, pi. III. fig. vii.

% M. Geoffrey regards them as articulations of the body of the hyoid.

§ The Basi-hyal of M. Geoffroy.

(a) The ento-hyal of M. Geoffroy.

(b) The uro-hi/al of M. Geoffroy.

(c) The thyreals and aritheals of M. Geoffroy.
(rf) The inferior pleurals.

298 vishes.

The superior part (No. (51 (a) much shorter than the other, is simple in
all the arches, excepting the first pair, which having no superior
pharyngean to support, is usually suspended to the cranium by a
small style (.Xo. 59) which we may. if we chose, consider the pharyn-
geal! of this pair.

The two parts of the arch are joined together by a cartilage which
allows of movement, and form an angle which can be shut or opened
more or less. These arches are attached to the intermediate chain by
flexible cartilages so that the whole apparatus is movable, either open-
ing or shutting the angle formed by the two parts of the arch, thus
lowering or raising the back of the mouth, enlarging or narrowing
in a vertical direction, the space between the branchi. or by carrying
each arch more forwards or backwards, thus enlarging or narrowing
the intervals between the branchi that give the water exit.

The external surface of the arches is hollowed for the lodgment of
the vessels, which furnish branches to the cartilaginous laminae
supported on this surface, these laminae constitute the essential part
of the organ o\ respiration.

Their internal surface is furnished with small plates, cones, or bony
laminae, usually supplied with teeth, variously disposed according to
the species, the most general use of which is to arrest such bodies as
the fish swallows, prevent their being carried out with the water for
respiration, and entangle them in the intervals of the branchial
lamina 1 . These small pieces in their way. perform the same office,
as the epiglottis in Mammalia, or the indented edges of the larynx in
birds.*

In our perch for example, the arches of the first pair have an
external row of these pointed and slender teeth like those of a rake,
and an internal row in the form of small plates : the following arches
have two rows of these little plates furnished with teeth like the pile
of velvet.

Pharyngeal Bones,

The Pharyngeal bones are situated at the entrance of the oesophagus,
immediately behind the branchial apparatus ; their office is to effect
a second mastication, often much more powerful than the first j for
this purpose they are furnished with teeth, which vary much in num-
ber and form, according to the species.

In general there are two inferior and six superior. The inferiors
(No. 56)* are attached behind the branchi in the angle formed by
the two last arches ; they often form two triangular plates which
serves as a door for the pharynx : sometimes, as in the oyprins. they
are curved to surround a p .rt of the sophagus and somtimes as in
the labrus and seams, they are soldered into a single piece, or at least
they are united by immoveable suture.

(a) The superior plureals of M. Geoffrey.

* These small plates or indented points which cover the surfaces of these arches,
are called /radicals by M. Geoffrey, who looks vipou them as analogous to the rings
of the trachea.

t M. Geoffroy calls them criceals. considering them analogous to the cricoid
cartilage.

FISHES. 299

The superior (No. 62)f consist of three pieces on each side, which
are attached under the internal extremity of the superior branches
of the three last arches. The three of the same side unite in ge-
neral in one plate, which forms with its fellow the vault of the
pharynx.

The superior pharyngeal bones are adherent to the hase of the cra-
nium, and have but little mobility ; hut the inferior ones are raised or
depressed with inferior branches of the arches, and thus dilate or
narrow the entrance of the (Esophagus,, at the same time, that they
compress the food in its passaev.

In the cyprins, the superior pharyngeal are small and toothless, a
large concave prominence of the Basilar furnished with a plate of
stony substance, fills up a part of the space which they usually occupy.
Sometimes, as in scarus, there is but one pair of them ; but we
see in general the branchial and pharyngeal apparatus containing
thirty-six osseous pieces, and if we counted those with which the
ai'ches are armed internally, this would amount to upwards of a
hundred.

Vertebra.

The vertebrae of fishes are known by the conical fossa, hollowed
(.ut of their bodies, upon the upper and lower surfaces. The double
hollow cones which thus always occupy the interval between two ver-
tebrae are filled up by a soft membranous and gelatinous substance,
which passes from one space to another, through a hole with which
each vertebrae is pierced almost always in its centre, so that these soft
bodies form a sort of gelatinous cord or chaplet upon which the verte-
brae are strung, and is alternately thin and bulky; it may even be
remarked here, that in certain species of chondropterygians, as the
lamprev, and partly in the sturgeon, the chimera, aud the polyodon ;
this hole of communication is so large, that the bodies of the verte-
brae may be considered as rings, and the cord which strings them
presents inequalities in its diameter, and resembles a true cord, which
name it has long borne in the lamprey. It is this circumstance that
gave rise to the observation that the lamprey had no vertebrae ; but it
is an easy matter to see their annular portions, and even the bodies of
the vertebra; may be detected with a little attention.

The vertebrae in fishes, as in other animals (a) have at their upper
part, for the passage of the spinal marrow, an annular portion, from
the top of which most frequently a spinous apophyse arises (c, c, c\)
and in front andr ear of its Ball apoyhyses are found which

correspond with the articular apophyses of other vertibrated animals,
but which in most cases merely touch or encroach slightly on each
other, without uniting by articular surfaces ; they nevertheless arc

* The Pharyngeal of M. Geoffroy.

f I have published the nature of the cord of the Lamprey, in vol. i. of the Mem.
du Museum.

(«) In fig x. pi. iii. from 67 to 69, the different vertebrae are given by various
surfaces.

300 FISHES.

moveable. Sometimes even, these articular surfaces exist on one side
of the vertebrae and not on the other, so that they have nothing to
articulate with. The annular portion of the first vertebrae is very
often distinct from its body during the entire life of the first. In the
others, they are either not separated, or they soon become conjoined.

In some fishes, as the muren, a part of the anterior vertebrae is
distinguished below the body, by a little crest or vertical apophyse.
In several also, the bodies of part of the vertebrae are soldered to-
gether ; examples of this will be found in the cyprins, the silures,
and the fistulaira, and instances still more strongly marked in many
of the chondropterygians,

The vertebrae placed over the cavity of the abdomen (No. 67, 67)
have transverse apophyses more or less strongly marked, which re-
main a long time, distinguished by sutures, and easy to be separated
from the body of the vertebrae, as in the cyprins. In certain fishes,
the hake, for instance, these transverse apophyses are very large,
and give attachment to the natatory bladder. At one time the ribs
are suspended by these apophyses ; at another they are fixed behind
them to the body of the vertebrae. In this respect there is a great
variety.

In the vertebrae, of the back part of the abdomen (Nos. 68, 68)
the tranverse apophyses are in general prolonged, and directed down-
wards ; the last of them are often united with each other by a
transverse, thus forming a ring. There are some of these inferior
rings running the whole length beneath the vertebra of the tail
(Nos. 69, 69,) where they form a canal for the lodgment of the
trunks of the vessels, in the same way, that the superior canal lodges
the medullary cord. Besides these, there are in many fishes other
transverse apophyses on the sides of the tail.

From these inferior rings of the tail, spinous apophyses arise (b. b.) ;
but these are directed downwards, as those of the superior annular
part are directed upwards, so that the vertebrae appears nearly the
same in the two directions.

The inferior rings, like the superior often have a sort of articular
apophyses, which are even sometimes large, and branched, thus form-
ing round the vascular canal a kind of net work. This particularity
is observed in certain species of the genus Tunny.

The vertebrae which approach the end of the tail, have their
apophyses gradually shortened, their canal is narrowed, or closed ;
the last unite their apophyses together, and with the last interspinal
small bones, thus forming with the last of all a triangular vertical
plate (No. 70), to the posterior border of which are articulated the
rays of the caudal fin (No. 71)- Fishes that have long and
pointed tails however, have not this disposition constantly ; for in-
stance, it does not exist in the eel ; in others, such as the pike, this
form still prevails.

The number of vertebrae, their relative length, breath, and height,
their furrows or fossettes that mark their bodies, the height and
direction of their apophyses vary to infinity, and even frequently
differ in a remarkable manner, in different parts of the same spine ; but
these details can only be glanced at till we come to describe species ; we

FISHES. 301

shall then expose the singular structures of the anterior part of the
spine in the ophidiae,the cobites, the cyprins, the silures, the knots of
certain choetodons, &c. ; we shall at present confine ourselves to ob-
serving, that the number of the vertebrae is not always in proportion
to the length of the fish.

The ribs*

The ribs (Nos. 72, 72) have in general only one head, they adhere
each to a single vertebra, as in lizards, and the sternal portion is
wanting, if we do not regard as such, in the fishes which have a kind
of sternum, the scaly pieces that form it, or the aretes that join it.f

Frequently the ribs, or several ribs, have by way of appendage, one
or two styles (Nos. 73, 73) adhering to some point of their length,
which take a direction outwards, and penetrate the flesh; some of
these styles, sometimes are given out from the body of the vertebrae
above the rib, to penetrate into the flesh; it is in this manner that the
crests in fishes are multiplied ; a well known example of this is found
in the family of herrings, whose entire flesh is traversed by crests as
fine as hairs. The ribs themselves vary greatly ; now slender and
round, but more or less robust, now compressed, or in a form of a
cythe, short, &c.

In certain fishes, such as the cyprins and herrings the ribs adhere to
the vertebrae by means of a small intermediate bone, which is inserted
into a lateral cavity of the body of the vertebra, and of which it
forms a transverse apophysis, though capable of being detached
from it.

As the ribs take no part in the respiration of fishes, their mobility
in general is not considerable ; there are species in which they enclose
the whole abdomen, fixing themselves below in such a manner as to
remain almost immoveable, Some fishes possess only the rudiments
of ribs, in others they are entirely wanting ; but the latter class is not
so numerous, as it has been supposed.

Vertical Fins.

Supported by rays, as in the four members the vertical fins, of
fishes can, however, only be compared, in other vertebrated animals
to the ridges which elevate the back of certain lizards ; still these
ridges are but scaly and cutaneous fringes, but the rays of the fins
belong in reality to the skeleton.

Each ray is composed of an internal part called the interspinal
bone (Nos, 74, 7i)% which penetrates into the flesh between the great
lateral muscles, and serves as a sort of root,|| and of an external part
(Nos. 75, 75) which is the ray properly so called.

* There is a drawing of a single rib, pi. iii. fig. 10, 72 and 73.

•f We should recollect that M.M. Auteureith and Geoffroy professed to find the
sternal rib in the rays of the branchiostegal membrane, but this is a mere hypo-
thesis liable to dispute.

JM. Meckel calls them accessory spinal apophyses ; these bones are represented
in their different aspects, with the rays they support, pi. III. fig. x. from 7-1 to 79.

|| I know not why it has been stated that the interspinals are wanting in the
bichir ; like other osseous fishes, it has as many of them, as it has of rays or false fins.

302 FISHES.

We find frequently interspinal bones (No. 76) without rays, and
sometimes also we see them supporting more than one. The form of
this bone is nearly that of a four edged poinard, the point being buried
in the muscles, and the handle on a level with the skin supporting
the external ray. The part which supports the ray, has a transverse
suture, which sends off from it a sort of epiphysis (a. a.). This epi-
physis in several species produces a small point which passes into the
articulation of the succeeding ray,

The interspinals are usually placed so that their points penetrate
between the spinous apophyses of the vertebrae, and each point is
attached by a ligamentous membrane before the extremity of one of
these apophyses ; but there are fishes, for example the pleuronectes,
and for the anal fin, the silures, &c, in which we find two small
bones for one vertebral apophysis, and others in which even these
conditions are not regular.

It should be also observed that in many genera, such as the eels,
the ophicephales and the gymnotes, the inferior interspinals are
separated from the vertebrae by the cavity of the abdomen, which is
prolonged above the anal fin ; that in others, as in the pleuronectes,
they are to be found as far up as the head. These circumstances,
together with the fact, that in the parts of the back or tail which do
not support vertical fins, there are usually no interspinal small bones
although there are vertebrae, oppose our considering these bones
as forming a part of the vertebrae, or dismemberments of vertebrae.*

The rays of the vertical fins (Nos. 74, 75) are articulated, each by
a loose gynglimus, with an interspinal small bone. For this purpose
their basis is generally divided into two small branches, each termi-
nated by an articular tubercle, which enters into the lateral depression
of the head of the interspinal small bone ; between these two tuber-
cles there is a small globular bone, on which the ray moves in two
directions ; but in the vertical plane their movement is more exten-
sive ; they can be elevated or laid backwards, thus raising the fin or
diminishing its height. Sometimes these two branches are again
joined below, and thus form a transverse ring, which entwines with
a longitudinal ring of the interspinal, as may be seen in Nos. 76, 77-

A part of these vertical rays are pointed bones ; they are called
needles or spinous rays ; the bases only of the others are bony and
solid ; but the rest of their length is made up of a multitude of little

* M. Geoffroy, (Memoirs of the Museum vol. ix. p. 97) thinks he has established
that, the superior spinous apophysis of mammalia, which he calls epial, and which
he supposes to be divided laterally into two parts, produces in fishes the interspinal
small bone and the ray, because its two parts ascend one on the other: he employs
the same reasoning with regard to the inferior rays, which he derives from the
spinous prominence of the small bone en chevron from under the tail of mammalia;
this small bone he calls cutaal. But, independently of the other singularities of these
views, the plaice which he took for example, was precisely the fish best calculated to
set him right ; for it has for each vertebra, two small inter-spinals, and two rays,
and even the first vertebra of the tail, aided by the post-abdominal bone, attached in
front of its inferior apophysis supports eight small bones and eleven rays of the fin of
the anus : this may be seen in Duhamel, part II. sect 9, pi. 12. Another argument
of equal weight against this system, is that every spinous or articulated ray is itself
divisible into two halves, one on each side ; whilst every interspinal is divided into
two pieces, one superior, the other inferior.

FISHES. 303

articulations, most frequently ramified into a certain number of
branches, which are again subdivided into other branches; they are
called articulate rays, soft, or branched rays.

Very frequently, and perhaps always, these rays, even those we
have just called simple, are divided longitudinally by a suture, into
two halves, one on the right, the other on the left.

The rays of the caudal fin (No. 71) are always soft and articulated,
but at its root above and below, it has small ones (Nos. 78, 78)
which diminish insensibly in front, where the solid part of the base
alone remains.

We may here observe, that the caudal fin has almost always, a ray less
in its lower half than in the upper ; but to this rule however, there are
exceptions.

In a great number of fishes, the vertebrae at which the abdomen
terminates, and the tail commences, and even the vertebrae following
it, (Nos. 83, 83) have large inferior spinous apophyses, to which is
joined a bone of more or less bulk. (No. 79)> which descends to the
back of the anus, thus limiting behind the cavity of the abdomen.

In the perch this is still a simple inter spinal, as our figures shew,
(No. 79 ; but in other species it appears to result from a very large
development of the first interspinal of the anal fin, or of the soldering
together of some of the first of these bones : it is nevertheless a fact,
that it fulfils a part of the functions of the pelvis.

The first interspinals, both inferior and superior, are in certain chce-
todons, swelled into thick knobs.

It is not necessary to enumerate in this place, the varieties in num-
ber, position, size, and length, of which the rays are susceptible.
These circumstances may be observed externally, and serve even to
give the character of species. We shall take notice of certain rays,
which extend even on the head, by means of an inter-spinal, which
lies fiat on the cranium, and which in this position represent so many
sorts of panache; these are seen in the lophius, in certain blennies, &c.
We shall also remark that in some genera, principally of the family of
the scombres, the spinous rays of the anterior part of the dorsal, and
more frequently still a part of the soft rays of the dorsal and the anal,
are not joined to the others by complete membranes, and they form
what is called for the first, the free spines, and for the others, false
fins. The sternum is deficient in very nearly the whole of the fishes ;
when it does exist, it forms a series of azygos bones, varying in their
shapes according to the genera to which the ribs are attached . It is
seen chiefly in the herrings and the vomers.

Of the Shoulder and Arm*

In the osseous fishes immediately behind the aperture of the gills, a
series of bones is observed on either side, which circumscribes this
aperture at the back part, forming a sort of jamb, on which the oper-
culum falls when it closes.

These two series are most generally attached to the upper part of

* Independently of what is stated in general works, a special memoir on the
shoulder of fishes by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, in the ix vol. of the Annales du
Museum, p. 3, 5, 7, which is the origin of the researches of this learned naturalist

304 FISHES.

the head, and being united below constitute a bony girdle, which
encompasses all this part of the body. The inferior symphysis formed
by the union of these two series, has a ligamentous attachment to the
tail of the oshyoides (42), and with that bone concurs in produciug an
isthmus, which separates the external orifices from the branchiee of
each side below, as the cranium intervenes between them above.

A small number of the osseous fishes only, such as the eels, have
this girdle unattached above, and diminished in the number of bones.
When complete it consists of three bones on each side, which
represent the shoulder and arm. To these are attached a group of
two or three other bones, which are analogous to the fore arm, and
have the pectoral fin as the representative of the hands. Lastly, a
stilet is almost always suspended from it, formed of one or two bones,
which appear to me to represent the coracoid bone.

The highest of these three bones (46) is usually bifurcated, and is
attached by its apophyses to the two lateral crests of the cranium,
(the intermediate formed by the external occipital No. 9 and the
external formed by the mastoidean No. 12). Frequently a third
apophysis penetrates farther in between the two crests. This bone
shows itself outside, above the opening of the brachiae, like a scale
which is larger than the others, and some has its margin with inden-
tations ; it is deficient in some genera, as in the eels, and in lophius ;
it is united to the cranium by a fixed suture, as in the flying fishes
and some species of silures.

The second of these bones (No. 47) is part of the margin ; but it is
wanting in the silures, in which species 'we find it soldered into a
single piece, with the first bone. The third (No. 48) which is always
very much the largest, completes the girdle as it proceeds, as we have
already mentioned, to unite with its fellow from the other side
beneath the throat. It frequently gives out above the base of the
pectoral fin, a spine or indented angle, and generally is composed of
two laminae; between these laminae, one of which is external, and the
other internal, is a furrow in which the inferior fasiculus of the great
lateral muscle of the body terminates, and which is moreover occu-
pied by the muscles of the pectoral fin.

In the eels, this third bone takes the form of a simple cylinder com-
pressed and arched. It remains still in some fishes that do not possess
the pectorals, as for example, the Symbranchise, in which it is even
very strong, and in which also we cannot find a trace of the second
bone. But in the murena (murceni helena), this third bone is no
more than a long cartilaginous filament, which is only found in the
flesh after a great deal of labour.

Almost always its union with that of the other side, takes place by
cartilages or ligaments ; but sometimes also as in the silures, and the
genus platycephalus, the junction by a large indented suture.

on the osteology of this class. He has produced the greatest part of it in his
Philosophie Anatomique, vol. i. p. 407, and the following pages.

We have figured the bones of the shoulder in their connexion with the cranium,
by their external surface, pi. iii. fig. 1 . ; also detached from the cranium, hvit the
union still remaining, the inside surface being presented fig. ih., and fig. ii. these
bones completely separate it.

PISHES. '.iO'i

To the internal lamina of this third Lone, adhere a fourth (No. 51),
and a fifth (No. 52), placed over each other, and each pierced by a
hole, or laterally fissured, and thus maintained in connexion with the
preceding bone. This fissure most commonly gives to the infei - ior
of the two bones the form of a square. Their free side supports the
pectoral fin, but it is by an intermediate range of four or five minute
bones (No. 53), placed between these two bones and the rays of the
fin, the first ray excepted, which is immediately connected -with the
superior bone (No. 52).

These minute bones recall to us most strikingly the recollection of
the bones of the carpus ; and, if this comparison be just, then the two
pieces (Nos. 51, 52) to which the minute bones adhere, will repre-
sent, as we have before suggested, the ulna (No. 51), and the radius
(No. 52).

The third bone of the girdle, the great inferior bone which sup-
ports the two latter, will correspond then necessarily with the
humerus, and the first and second (Nos. 46, 47) will represent the
scapula. In short, the scapula of several reptiles, particularly that of
the frog, is manifestly composed of two osseous pieces, and even
there the superior is frequently bifurcated, as it almost always is in
fishes.

Henceforth we shall distinguish the two superior pieces of the
girdle by the names superscapulary * and scapulary\ ; the third will
be our humeral,]; and the two which bear the fin, shall be our ulnar
and our radial. §

In some genera, but conspicuously in the salmons and in the
cyprins, these two latter bones have, upon the internal side of their
suture, a third bone, of which the extremity opposite to that which is
attached to these bones, supports itself against the anterior border of
the humerus, and thus acts as an arched buttress.

In the silures these three bones become very quickly soldered toge-
ther, and even with the humerus, probably on account of the effort
which they must make to support the very large spinous ray of the
pectoral.

In the eels, where there are only two of these bones, they are in a
condition, as if suspended to the point of junction of the scapular and
humeral bones, and they are no longer to be seen in those species of
fishes, where the pectoral is deficient.

A sort of stylet remains which is almost invariably composed of
two pieces (Nos. 49, 50) ; the superior piece (No. 49), which is

* M. Bakker calls the superior bone the scapula, it is the omolite of M. Geoffroy,
I have called it for a long time the pedicle of the shoulder.

f This is the scapula; of Geoffroy, and the acromion of M. Bakker.

X Gouan calls this bone the clavicle. In point of fact it does perform the
functions of one up. to a certain extent, and M. Geoffroy has ultimately adopted this
name. M. Bakker, considering it to be the clavicle and humerus incorporated, calls
it coenosteon. M. Meckel calls it simply the clavicle, and so does M. Geoffroy.

§ These bones have been already called thus by M. Bakker. M. Geoffroy,
however, takes our ulnar for a humerus, and does not speak at all of a radius,
at least not distinctly. In lophius and polypterius he considers the bones of the
carpus as those of the fore arm.

VOL. II. X

306 usiiKs.

flattened more or Less, is suspended to the bone (No. 48), which I
have just compared to the humerus.*

This stylet proceeds downwards along the side of the body, behind
the pectoral fin, and is prolonged more or less forwards into the flesh,
so ;is to be taken for the analogue of the clavicle; but it is directed
behind and seems to lie rather a. representative of the coracoid than

of any other bone, for il is lost as it were in the llesh, having no

large sternum to rest upon as its support, such as is seen iii the birds
and reptiles. Sometimes we find it joined to that on the other side,
and even in the genus siganus, 1 ! and that of seserinus it is very strong,

and reaches the origin of the anal I'm.

An equally curious arrangement is that of the genus batrachus, in
which the superior piece passes beyond the humerus above, and
becomes attached to the upper part of the spinous apophysis of the
first vertebra.

In the cyprins, on the contrary, the stylet is degenerated to a thin
bone of a single piece, and it is wanted altogether in the eels, the sea
wolves, and the silnres. ]

Bones <>f the Carpus.

The little Hat bones in fishes, which have been compared to the
carpus (No. H4), adhere to the outside border of the fourth and fifth
bone:., which I. have just called radius and ulna (Nos. 51, 52) ; they
usually form a single row, and never exceed the number of four or
five ;§ but sometimes they are so shrunk in the middle that they look
like two rows. Their office is to support the rays of the pectoral
(No. 65), however numerous the latter may be, but with the excep-
tion of the first (No. »)ti), which is articulated immediately to the
superior bone of the arm, or the radius.(No. 52).

ft is then the bones of the carpus, and not those of the arm, or fore

* I believe that I was the first to speak of this stylet, in my Lecture on Com-
parative Anatomy, p. 333. M. Geoffroy (Annates iln Museum, vol. IX. p. .'Jfi4)
had compared it to half Hie fourchette of birds, the latter being, as I have, proved it
to be, their true clavicle, and my opinion is adopted by the greater number of
anatomists. Still it is evidenl that it is altogether inconsistent with the position of
iliis piece behind ; indeed M. Geoffroy lias corrected his opinion, and now calls it, in
his Philosophic Anatomique, the coracoid bone ; but he has not observed thai it is
almost always composed of two pieces. M. Bakker has been equally inattentive to
this fait, although he concurs with as in tin name of the bone; M. Van-der-Hceven,
on the shoulder bone, is contented with making an extract from M. Geoffroy.
| For this interesting observation uc are indebted to M. Geoffroy.

\ M. Geoffroy supposes that be>di covered the stylet in the first ray of the pectoral
in the silures, that very ray which is spinous, and is actually united to the radius by

a most, singular articulation, described by us elsewhere. There is, however, do
difficulty whatever in demonstrating, as we shall do in treating of this genus, that
this is nothing more than a ray, and even an articulated ray, and which would
appi ar to be spinous only because il ; articulations are soldered together. The little
bone, again, which he considers as the analogue of the stylet in silurus electricus,
i nothing else than the third bow ol the lore arm, of which we have spoken in the
preceding pane

§ M. Van-der-H'i en, pi 67, according to M. Geoffroy, Annates du Mus.

VOl. I.V. p. .VIS 368, slates, that the bones of the carpus are wauled in certain

fishes, or arc confounded in them with those of the rays, l do not think that this
occurs in any osseous fish whatever.

HSUKJ-. , 307

arm, which are elongated and form at the surface certain kinds ol
arms, in the genus lophius where there arc only two, in that of
batrachus where there are five, and in the polypterae where there are
only three.* Under these circumstances the ulna and radius are very

much reduced.

Bones of the Posterior Extremity.

The os innominatum, the thigh, the leg, and the tarsus on each side,
lire represented by merely a single bone (No. SO), generally of the
form of a triangle, but more or less complicated with apophyses and
protruding layers. j- The apex of the triangle is heiore, and in the
ftsb.es denominated by Linnseus jugular and thoracic 1 , that is to say.
in my Subbrachians, this apex or the apophysis which replaces it, are
attached to the symphyses of the bones, which we have called hume-
rus. In the true abdominal fishes it remains free in the flesh.

The posterior side, which is usually the narrowest, gives attach-
ment to the rays of the ventral fin, to the internal side of which rays
it often gives another apophysis behind (b b). Almost always the
internal side is united to that of the corresponding bone by suture
(a a). Sometimes it happens that these two hones remain sepa-
rated from each other, either before as in the genus lophius, or
behind as in that of batrachus. Every hody is acquainted with the
fact that very many fishes, such as the eels, the electrical eels, the
sword-fishes, &C, are utterly destitute of ventral fins, while others, as
the lepidopus, are furnished only with very imperfect traces of these
fins. In the former case there is no vestige whatever of a pelvic
hone.

The Rays of the Extremities.

The rays of the extremities without being so symmetrical as those
of the vertical fins, are divided in the same longitudinal direction,
each into halves. They are almost always, the whole of them, arti-
culated, with tin 1 exception of the external ray of the ventral in the
aoanthopterygians, but their base is more compact than the remaining
part of their length, and the articulations are invisible or nearly so.
This base is increased in such a manner as that it is able to form a
solid attachment to the bones of the radius, of the carpus, and of the

* M. Geoffroy (loc. cit.) has supposed that the two long bones which sustain the
pectoral in lophius, are the bones which lie calls radius and ulna in other fishes; but
this is certainly not the case ; tin' two bones which we consider as the bones of the
lore arm, are found in their natural situation in this genus as in all others, ami the
two great bones, which form the pedicle of the tin, are Bome of those which we refer
to the carpus. At. Bakker adopts the idea of M. Geoffrey; lie lias adequate^
estimated the difficulty, but has been unable to solve it. M. Meckel considers this
bone preciselyas we do. In the bichers (polypterus) there are three bones which
are lengthened out to support the pectoral, and the pieces of the base of the rays

form, in these animals, a second low to this description of e opus. M. Ceollioy
has taken the two extremities of these three boms of ihe carpus, fur the radius and
ulna. The same bones are lengthened in the plat yeephalus, periophtalmus, and
other genera, in which it is impossible not, to distinguish the bones of the arm
before the latter.

f M. Bakker calls this coxa. It is represented plate HI, fur. 8 bj the superior
, and fig. 9, by the inferior.

X J

308 KISHES.

pelvis. We rarely find the-first ray of the pectoral ramified, and its
joints are sometimes so soldered together, as to assume the appear-
ance of a spinous ray, as happens in the silures amongst other fishes.
The same thing happens likewise to one of the first rays of the dorsal
in the cyprins, silures, &c. ; so that these are by no means true spi-
nous rays, notwithstanding their appearance ; and, in point of fact,
these fishes, by every character which they have, belong to the
malacopterygians.

The first" joints of the pectoral or ventral rays are lengthened out
sometimes, as in the bichir, and in such a way as to represent a
second row of carpal bones, and also a row of tarsal ones.

It is un necessary for us to occupy ourselves in this part of the
work, with the difference in the number and proportion of these
rays ; they may be easily known from descriptions of the exterior
parts.

We have now furnished a detail of the elements which constitute
the skeleton of the common or osseous fishes, and it is to be remem-
bered, that under this last denomination we embrace, as has already
been stated, a good number of the fishes to which the title of carti-
laginous had been given by our predecessors, in consequence of their
bones being less completely ossified, as the genus lophius, the
tetrodons, and balistes, &c. Except the vertebrae and the rays of the
fins, there is scarcely any difference in the number and connexions
of the above elements, and it is only to the differences between their
respective forms and proportions, that we are to assign the incal-
culable varieties of the general form of fishes. One set of bodies we
find lengthened out, other sets are either globular or prismatic, or
horizontally flattened, or so compressed laterally as to resemble disks
or edged lamina; another group of heads we find to be absolutely
monsters in growth, and they are angular in shape and bristled, then
there are others, the proportionate insignificance of which is so very
singular, the snouts are both short and large ; those which are pro-
longed into an apex or into a sword, have almost always the same
number of bones in their composition.

But the chondropterygians, the only fishes which I place in a grand
division in relation to the combined effect of their organization, very
considerably differ from others in the skeleton, and we are obliged to
speak of them separately. What we now give is only an abridge-
ment, as we reserve ourselves until we come to the history of these
fishes, to present to the reader the details of their anatomy.

Summary vieiti of the Skeleton of the true Cartilaginous fishes called
Chon dropterygians.

The pieces of this skeleton in the selacians, that is to say in the
rays and sea-dogs, do not assume at all the fibrous tissue which
characterises the bones, the inside part remains always cartilaginous,
and the outer surface is indurated by very small calcareous granules,
which are collected on it, and which give to it the dotted appearance
by which they are distinguished.

This is the reason, in all probability, why the cranium of these
fishes is divided by no sutures, but is composed of one continuous

FISHES. 309

case, modelled besides, and pierced very nearly as the cranium is in
the common fish, so that this head of the chondropterygians is capable
of being separated into the same regions, the same fossae, the same
eminences, and the same foramina, but is not composed of bones
so capable of being separated.

Their face is also extremely simple. There are only two bones to
their palato-temporal arch, the first proceeding downwards from the
cranium to the articulation of the jaws, the second holding the place
of the superior jaw, and supporting the teeth, whilst the maxillary and
the intermaxillary are degenerated to very trifling traces which are
concealed in the thickness of the lip. Neither has the loAver jaw
more than one bone also on each side (the articular) which supports
the teeth, and there only remains of the others a slight vestige which
is also hidden beneath the skin of the lip.

The opercular apparatus is wanted ; but that of the hyoid and the
branchiae has a good many characters in common with the same appa-
ratus in the osseous fishes. Besides, there is in the. sea-dogs, opposite
the external attachment of each branchia, a thin bone suspended
beneath the integuments, which is the true rudiment of a rib, but is
very different from the branchiostegal rays that are considered in the
osseous fishes as sternal ribs. The branchial 'apparatus is placed far-
ther behind in the chondropterygians than it is in the osseous fishes,
and it is that which so much draws back, beneath the origin of the
spine, the girdle of the shoulder.

The latter which is attached, in the rays, exclusively to large
apophyses of the sphine, but which is free from any adhesion in the
squalus is a single piece only, in these two genera, and it surrounds
the body, and supports on each side a greater or less numerous row of
other pieces, which form a base for the pectoral fin, and also for the
borders to which the rays adhere.

The pelvis, in the same way, is only a single transverse piece,
which does not articulate with the spine, and supports, on each side, a
lamina or stem to which the rays of the ventral adhere. This is the
stem which is continued in the form of a mass in the males, and in
them assumes a very complicated sort of structure, respecting which
we shall have more to say, by and bye.

There are portions of the spine in which several of the vertebrae
are soldered together, or, at least, in which the space where they are
to be laid is occupied only by a tube of a single piece, pierced on each
side by numerous foramina for the exit of so many pair of nerves,
Such is the origin of that of the rays. In the latter also, and in the
squalus we may observe, that there are just twice as many superior
rings as there are vertebrae. Independently of the common annular
portions, there are others which correspond to the joinings of the
vertebrae altogether.

The spinal ribs, whenever they exist in fishes, are usually very
small, and in the rays, these ribs are much more so than those of the
squalus. The sturgeons have very considerable spinal ribs.

In respect of the structure of the branchiae, the sturgeon is a medium
between the two genera just mentioned, and the common fishes;
many of the bones of the head, and all the bones of the shoulder being

310 FISHES.

indurated and quite stony on their surfaces, but not at all fibrous.
On the other hand, the cord passing through the axes of the bodies of
its vertebrae are not affected by any shrinking^, and this circumstance
approximates it to the lamprey.

In the latter genus, the whole of the parts of the skeleton are more
simple still than in the selacians : its spine especially is much softer,
and it is destitute of branchial arches. Its branches adhere to the
interior only by the medium of a membranous canal ; on the con-
trary, externally, there is an apparatus formed, by these descriptions
of ribs, the earliest vestiges of which have been shown in the squalus,
and in the present case are branchy, like a sort of cage.

The ammocetes have even no cartilaginous skeleton. All the parts,
of their frame- work permanently remain in the membranous state,
and thus in reference to their peculiar condition, will resemble much
more the worms, than they will the vertebrated animals.

The Chimsera likewise has the cord of its spine stronger and better
marked than the body of the vertebrae, and on the fore part, a number
of annular pieces is superseded by a^ crest of a single piece; in the
polyodon too, the cord is exceedingly vigorous.

All these varieties in the skeleton of the Chondropterygian fishes
will be more clearly explained Avhen we come to their particular
joints, and can enter into the necessary details.

CHAPTER IV.

MYOLOGY OF FISHES.

Movements of the Skeleton in Fishes.

The spine composed of an indefinite number of vertebrae, with the
motion which their uniting cartilages allow them on each other,
bends freely from right to left, in one or more curves alternately
convex and concave, according to its length. It would be equally
pliant in the vertical direction, did not the superior and inferior spi-
nous apophyses limit this movemement in the ratio of their height
and their approximation to each other.

It is therefore chiefly in striking the water laterally by the alter-
nate flexions of its body and tail, that the fish moves forward. The
surface which thus strikes the water, is augmented or lessened in
height, according as the fins of the back, the anus, and the tail, have
their rays more spread and erect ; this is effected by the mobility of
the rays on the small interspinal bones, with which they are articu-
lated, which mobility, according to the form of the articulations,
takes place forwards, backwards, or to the sides, at the will of the
fish, producing the same effects as a rudder.

As to the fins which are in pairs, the pectorals in the first place,
].«)sscss the movement of the girdle of the shoulder, which takes place
from before backwards, or from behind forwards, to an extent that
depends on the freedom of the articulation of the scapula, and on the

FISHES. 311

existence or absence of the sternum, but which in general is very
limited. The bones of the arm are seldom endowed with any parti-
cular mobility. Even the carpus enjoys a separate movement only
in the species in which it is prolonged. But all the rays have the
power of receding from or approaching towards each other, and the
fin which is composed of them, has the faculty of moving forward,
or of lying flat against the body, or of raising, depressing, and incli-
ning differently its plane to the horizon. It acts on the entire fish
much in the same way as a wing placed in the same situation, and
its strength depends on its surface, and the vigour of its muscles.

We know that, in the pirabebes and the exocetus, the pectoral fins
are large enough to lift the fish out of the water, and to enable
it to describe in the air an extensive curve.

The ventral fins follow the motion of the bones of the pelvis,
which move forwards, backwards, and to the sides, and, when not
soldered to each other, they recede from or approach each other.
They have also a power of expanding or contracting their rays, a
combined movement towards the vertical or the horizontal plane,
by being drawn towards the belly or the sides; they thus act like oars.

Lastly the head is slightly moveable on the spine, and largely on
the jaws, the palato-temporal arches, the os hyoides, the branchial
arches, the pharyngeal bones, and the opercula. The opening or
closing of these parts, so useful in deglutition and respiration, con-
tributes also to the motion of the fish forwards, by the pressure which
the water sustains from them in its passage backwards through the
mouth, to be ejected by the openings of the branchiae.

To these different movements we should add that which the body
of the fish receives in the vertical direction, from the greater or lesser
degree of compression which the ribs exert on the natatory bladder.
This bladder placed under the spine of the back, and filled with air,
according as it is more or less compressed or dilated, gives to the
fish a specific gravity, equal, superior, or inferior to that of the water,
and thus enables it to remain in equilibrium, and either to descend
or ascend.

It now remains to explain in this chapter, the muscles which impart
the different motions just described, to the osseous organs.*

We shall first describe the great muscles which act on the entire
body ; then those of the vertical fins ; we shall then speak of muscles
of the fins in pairs ; and lastly, we shall examine those complicated

* The myology of fishes has been still infinitely more neglected than their osteo-
logy. In Gouan's history of fishes, page C9 and following, there is a meagre de-
scription of the most external muscles taken from an acanthopterygian, possibly a
sparus. Vicq. D'Azyr has given some unfinished sketches of the myology of the
chondropterygians, and the eel (second Memoir on fishes, Acad, des sc. : Sav: etr. :
vol VII.) M. Dumeril and myself have considerably extended them, in my lectures
on comparative anatomy, vol 1. passim for the body and members ; vol. Ill page 90
for the jaws, and vol. IV. page 353 for the branchiae and their opercula ; but still
our descriptions have not all the clearness and generality desirable. Those now
given are new, and are taken from more numerous observations; as in the rest of
this anatomical treatise, I have taken the perch as 1he principal type ; the most re.
markable exceptions will be noticed in their proper place.

312 FISHES.

muscles which move the different parts of the head, and its several
apparatus on each other.

The muscles of fishes, like those of other vertebratae are composed
of fleshy fibres of a more or less deep red colour, and of tendinous
fibres of a silvery or white colour, in similar respective positions.
But it may be affirmed, that with the exception of certain particular
muscles, which are sometimes of a deep red, the flesh of fishes is paler
than that of quadrupeds, and especially than that of birds. There are
even species, whose flesh is purely white ; its odour and savour are
different; it exhales more infection during decomposition, an infec-
tion of a particular character which has been compared to that of
phosphuretted hydrogen gas, but which, according to M. Chevreul,
depends on a particular principle.

Great lateral Muscles of the body.*

Essentially there is but one great muscle on each side, (No. 1)
filling up the space from the head above, and the bones of the shoul-
der below, down to the sides of the base of the caudal fin. But this
single muscle is very complicated, and represents the three fasciculi
of the sacro spinal, which, as fishes have no necks, extend from the
tail to the head, without presenting those distinctions, which obtain in
other animals, between the cervical portions, and the dorsal and ca x-
dal portions.

The muscle of one side is separated from the other, by the spine
and its apophysis, by the deep seated muscles of the interspinal small
bones (Nos. 3 and 4) and by the ribs which surround the abdominal
cavity. They separate from each other below (in a) to make room
for the pelvis, to which they often furnish, each a small fasciculus, and
for the ventral fins. Farther forwards (in 6) each is divided into
two, for the passage outwards of the pectoral fin, and the muscles that
belong to it.

The superior portion of this anterior division, is inserted chiefly
into the cranium (in d, e) the bones of the shoulder (in f, g) and in
many species, even to that part of the humerus, which is above the
pectoral (in, A). A part of it stops at the first rib, and from the point
a fasciculus, (y) sometimes, is sent to the mastoid bone, which we
might compare to a scalenus. Its inferior portion is inserted into
the inferior part of the humeral bone (in c) and particularly to its
symphysis. Below, it is continued to the body or the azygous piece
of the hyoides (from c to d). It is this prolongation which occu-
pies what is called the isthmus. This inferior division of the great
muscle envelops the stiliform bone behind the shoulder (in a, b)
nearly in the same way, as the vestige of the clavicle is enveloped be-

* The muscles of the Perch have been represented in plates IV, V, and VI of the
osteology of fishes : plate IV. is the external lateral layer ; plate V. the deep lateral layer.
In pi. VI. is represented the upper layer of the muscles situated below the head and
chest ; fig. II. are the muscles under the cranium and internal surface of the bran-
ehiostegous membrane ; in fig. III. the muscles which are proper to the branchiae ;
the heart is also in its situation. It is to these three plates that the references in
the present chapter are directed.

FISHES. 313

tvveen the great pectoral and the sterno-cleido-mastoid, in carnivorous
quadrupeds, or at least, this bone is attached to its surface, by dense
cellular tissue.

These two great muscles are divided, transversely, by aponeurotic
laminae into as many layers of fibres as there are vertebrae. These
layers, when detached by cooking (which dissolves the gelatine of the
tendons) gives to the flesh of fishes a foliated appearance.

These aponeurotic laminae, and the fleshy leaves which they mark,
are disposed more or less obliquely to the spine, and generally curved
so that their superior (i k, i k) and inferior (I in, 1 m) parts are
directed obliquely from behind forwards, the former ascending,
the latter descending, and their middle portion (k I, k I) forms an
angle, or an arch more or less convex, with its convexity directed
forwards. The muscle is thus divided lengthways into three bands.
When we cut into the superficial layer, we find that the superior band
is easily separated from the middle one ; and in removing the superior
band from the bones at its inferior border, we observe that its deep-
seated and inferior part is attached to the spinous apophyses of the
vertebrae by tendinous threads which take a direction obliquely back-
wards. If we separate it superiorly from the spinous apophysis,
and insterspinal bones, we find that its superior deep-seated part
also gives oblique tendons to the spinous apophysis, but which
have a direction obliquely forwards. Its more superficial part sends
sometimes, also, in the places where there are dorsal fins, to the
interspinals of those fins, especially to those of the needles, straps
which are similarly oblique, and directed forwards. It is this band
which seems to us to represent the spinal muscle of the back.

The middle band would appear to us to represent the longissimus
dorsi, that which is called in quadrupeds with tails, the lateral lumbo-
sub-caudian. As the pelvis does not here interrupt the continuity of
the muscles of the tail, with those of the back, there is no further dis-
tinction, excepting in the neck. Superiorly its deep seated portion
furnishes oblique slips, directed backwards to the sides of the spinous
apophyses of the vertebrae. Throughout the rest of its height, its
deep seated fibres pass from one rib to another, drawing them together
like the intercostals.

The third band, appears to me to correspond in the part which is
under the tail, to the inferior lumbo-sub-caudal of Mammalia ; but in
all the part which runs along the abdomen, it performs the function
of the abdominal muscles, especially in the species in which the ribs
do not cover the entire cavity. Its union with the middle band is much
more intimate, than that of the superior band.

Along each flank, in the middle of the height of the fish, and conse-
quently on the middle band of the great lateral muscle, there is a
slight furrow, in which a mucous vessel is lodged. It corresponds
to the extremities of the accessory ribs ; but it does not penetrate
deeply, nor is there in this place any separation between the muscles,
at least, in the majority of fishes having compressed bodies.

This, however, is not always the case. In the eel for instance, the
situation of this furrow marks the principal solution of continuity, so
that the lamime of the superior band have the form of a V open in

314 FISHES.

front. In the trout, there are three solutions of continuity nearly
equally well marked, the two ordinary ones and a middle one.

In fishes with depressed bodies, the superior and inferior bands are
horizontal and parallel to each other ; in these the inferior, still more
obviously, performs the functions of the abdominal muscles.

The great lateral muscles terminate behind by an aponeurosis,
which is inserted by tendinous slips in the base of the rays of the
caudal, which it laterally supports. Even some of the small muscles
belonging to this fin are inserted into this aponeurosis ; it also
conceals its deep seated muscles. The superior and inferior bands
are inserted more particularly in the extreme rays, and seem to
concur in separating them from the others, and dilating the caudal.

The use of the great lateral muscles is obvious : each of them
bends from its side the whole or part of the body of the fish, and
consequently all impart to it those alternating motions of flexion and
extension which carry the fish forwards ; for it is by the strokes
which the tail and to a certain extent the whole body, give laterally
to the water, that the fish moves in this direction. The anterior
inferior portion which goes to the symphysis of the humeral bones,
and thence to the body of the os hyoides, representing the sterno, and
cleido-hyoideans, concurs with the genio-hyoidean, which Ave shall
notice in the sequel, in bringing down the lower jaw, and conse-
quently in opening the mouth. As the head has no muscles proper
to it in osseous fishes, it is to the great lateral muscles, that it owes
the slight movements which it executes. This, however, is not the
case in the chondropterygians in which the head is furnished with
muscles proper to itself.

The Thin, Superior, and Inferior Muscles of the Trunk.

In the interval of the two great lateral muscles, either at the back,
or more frequently also at the belly, there are two thin muscles,
which commonly are only interrupted by the dorsal and anal fins, to
the anterior and posterior bases of which they are attached ; they
move these fins, but they also serve to curve the trunk, either
upwards or downwards, whenever the disposition of the vertebrae
renders such movements possible.

In the perch, whose dorsals commence at the nucha, there is but
one superior pair of these muscles, and they can only be seen between
the second dorsal and the caudal (No. 7) ; but interiorly, there arc
two pairs, one (No. 6) proceeding from the posterior part of the
pelvis to the anal, embracing the anus ; the other (No. 8) extends from
the anal to the caudal, and corresponds with the dorsal portion (No. 7)-

In fishes which have but one dorsal more or less short, as in the
cyprins, there are two pairs on the back, and when there are two
dorsals separated from each other, as in trouts, there are three pairs ;
but when there are two or three dorsals in contact, and occupying a
large portion of the back, as in the cods, the muscles of that side are
considerably reduced in size.

The same variations obtain with regard to thosr of the belly.

In the abdominal fishes, whose ventrals are remote from the
pectorals, there arc three well marked pairs ; one proceeding from the

fishes: 315

humerals to the pelvis ; another from the pelvis to the anal ; the third
from the anal to the caudal ; they are also well seen in the trout.
Sometimes, as in the cyprins, the first pair is intersected by tendons,
and is attached more or less to the lateral muscles. In certain species
with depressed bodies, the lophius for example, the inferior muscles
are not distinguished from the inferior portion of the lateral muscles,
which have themselves the appearance of the abdominal muscles.

Muscles proper to the Caudal Fin.

There are three descriptions of these muscles - ; the first series are
superficial, the second deep seated, the last proceeding from one ray
to another.

The superficial (Nos. 11, 11) partially adhere to the aponeurosis
which terminates the great lateral muscle of the body, and by which
this muscle is inserted into the caudal. The small muscles which
this aponeurosis supports, spread out like a fan, to be inserted
obliquely into a greater or lesser number of rays.

Those Avhich pass from one ray to another (Nos. 12, 12) are
situated between their bases, and take a direction more backwards
than the preceding ones.

The deep seated muscles (Nos. 9, 10) can only be discovered
when the great lateral muscle is removed. They adhere to the 'end
of the spine, particularly to the vertebrae, compressed into the form of
a triangle which terminates it, and supports the caudal fin ; the one is
superior the other inferior. They may be often separated into two
layers : their insertion into the bases of the rays, is made by slips
concealed under those of the terminal aponeurosis of the great lateral
muscle.

Sometimes, particularly is the perch, there is a third muscle (No.
13), which arises from the middle of the height of the vertebrae, between
the two preceding ones, and which ascends to the superior part of the
fin : it must then co-operate with the superficial muscles and those
between the rays in contracting the fin. The deep-seated muscles as
well as the large lateral muscles must support it on the side.

The Proper Muscles of the Dorsal and Anal Fins.

The description of these muscles is extremely simple, in conse-
quence of the strict uniformity of their arrangement, and because
each of the rays has six, or in other words, has four deep-seated, and
two superficial muscles.

The superficial muscles (Nos. 2, 2, 2) are inserted in the ring at
the sides of the base, the one to the right and the other to the
left ; they are placed as layers on the large muscles of the body, in a
manner which is tranverse to their direction, and are attached to the
skin. Their length, and the power which they possess are by so
much the more considerable, as the fish avails itself of the resource
furnished by its vertical fins to strike the water right and left, and as
the motion of the rays in this direction has greater freedom. The
perch, which we have selected as the object for our representations
in the plates, is furnished with such as have a moderate degree of
length:

316 FISHES.

The deep seated are concealed to a great extent between the two
large muscles of the body ; they adhere to the interspinous small
bone, two before (No. 3), and two behind (No. 4), the one being
separated from the other by the crests of this small bone, and inserted
at the base of the ray, which they can elevate or depress behind, or
even carry from the side when the anterior and posterior of the same
side act in unison ; but the latter description of motion is invariably
but slightly marked.

Muscles of the Shoulder.

The girdle which forms the shoulder of fishes, and Avhich is com-
posed of the bones called by us supra-scapular, scapular, and
humeral, is susceptible of merely a very circumscribed faculty of
motion ; and, indeed, it may be regarded rather as a fixed point for
those of the trunk, the branchiae, and inferior jaw. Nevertheless, if
we suppose that these other parts should be themselves fixed for an
instant, then this girdle may be drawn backwards by the great lateral
muscles of the body (No. 1), of which it receives a considerable
portion.

It is justifiable, likewise, to represent the shoulder as deriving
motion forwards, from the part of this same muscle (d, c), which
goes to the body of the os hyoides, where a fixed point for it to
act upon is given, when this bone is brought nearer to the jaw by
the genio-hyoidean muscle, and when the jaw itself is closed by the
crotaphites.

There is in some species a muscle, which, on the posterior, infe-
rior, and lateral side of the cranium, is carried to the superior and
anterior part of the humeral bone, and which partly invests the
membrane that performs the office of a diaphragm between the
cavity of the branchiae and that of the body. It must act on the
shoulder but very feebly, and its destiny more probably is to act on
the diaphragm and to compress the intestines. In the perch it does
not extend (No. 10), except from behind the mastoidean to the supra-
scapular and scapular.

The coracoid stylet has not what may be exactly called a peculiar
muscle, but, as before mentioned, it is encased in the great lateral
muscle of the body. Sometimes, it merely gives attachment to a thin
and oblique muscular layer, which partially covers this great muscle.

Muscles of the Pectoral Fin.

In the large number of species where the carpal bones are small,
these muscles are only inserted in the rays.

On each surface there are two layers all of which terminate by as
many long tendinous slips as there are rays. The direction of the
two layers on each surface is a little crosswise. The anterior super-
ficial layer (No. 14) comes from the humeral bone and descends,
whilst the deep seated layer (No. 15) arises from the external sur-
face and the inferior edge of the ulnar bone ; it ascends. This
arrangement is the inverse of that of the posterior layers, for in the
latter the layer nearest the bones descends, whilst the other ascends.
When the two layers of the anterior surface act in unison, they

FISHES. 317

support the fin before, or, in other words, they place it in an angle
with the body which is more or less wide, the two posterior layers
bring it nearer and stick it against the body. Each layer, by its
independent action, may raise or depress the fin according to its
direction. Sometimes a process is detached from the deep posterior
layer which, carrying its tendon over the superior border, becomes a
special elevator of the fin : it is by the combination of these various
actions that the pectoral extends or contracts. In those species in
which the carpus is prolonged, as in the lophius, these special muscles
are much more developed.

These are the layers of which we at first spoke, and which being
enlarged gradually in the squalus, become at last the enormous
muscles of the wings of the ray, that form the greatest proportion of
the edible flesh of this fish.

The Muscles of the Pelvis.

The bones which support the ventral fins, and to which we have
applied the name of bones of the pelvis, are put in motion forward
and backward by the lower thin muscles of the trunk (No. 6) already
spoken of. The anteriors proceed from the internal extremity of
the humeral bones, and are inserted into the inferior surface of the
bones in question near their internal border. The posteriors are
connected to the posterior border of the bone of the pelvis, and
directing themselves towards the anus surround that aperture, and
are either lost amongst the lateral muscles, or become attached to the
first interspinals of the anal fin. The anteriors are sometimes
subdivided. In that species which have the ventrals attached beneath
the throat or thorax, they are very short, and are very intimately
united with the great lateral muscles.

These bones of the pelvis are moved towards one another by trans-
verse muscles, placed beneath their inferior surface, of which one
part is occasionally crossed ; but they do not invariably exist. The
perch, for instance, has none ; and it is probable that they are not to be
found in any of the species, where the bones of the pelvis are united
by a suture. On the other hand, we find them very large in the
lophius, where these bones are separated from each other.

The pelvic bones receive from the large lateral muscles, between
which they are situated, a slip which draws them from the side ; but,
generally speaking, their motions, as well as those of the two bones
of the shoulder, are very much limited.

Muscles of the Ventral Fins.

They are supported by the bones of the pelvis ; the depressors on
their lower surface (Nos. 17, and 18); the elevators on their upper.
Two layers on each surface, crossing one another a little like those
of the pectorals, separate into as many slips as there are rays, and
are more or less distinct, as those rays are more or less separated and
have the power of motion more independent. The more external of
the slips (No. 17), are more generally separated, and serve to dilate
the fins.

These proper muscles of the rays of the extremities, both of the

318 FISHES.

pectoral and of the ventral fins, may be compared to the short flexors
and short extensors of the toes of the lizards, and especially the
crocodile ; animals in which these parts are usually in the same way
disposed in two layers, on each surface of the hand and foot, but
more defined and assisted by long muscles, which are entirely wanting
in the fishes.

Muscles of the Jaws.

These compose one single mass (No. 20), which is common to the
two jaws, and which closes the mouth by bringing the latter
together.

The mass is connected with the whole external surface of the
posterior portion of the palato- temporal arch, and with all the bones
of which it is composed, including the anterior edge of the preoper-
culum. It is most usually divided into three tubercles or bellies, and
sometimes four ; its form is very nearly quadrangular, and from its
anterior border it gives off two tendons united by a single apophysis.
That which is sent off by the superior angle, and which is the
longest, reaches the upper part of the superior jaw ; that coming
from the opposite angle, which is much shorter, is inserted into the
lower jaw behind its coronoid apophysis. The aponeurosis dilates
itself on the membrane which joins the two jaws.

This organization, it will be seen, is very different from our
crotaphyte and our masseter ; but we shall find it constant in all the
osseous fishes, and in some of them we have never been able to
detect any thing which could be said to resemble the pterygoidean
muscles. As to the cartilaginous fishes, the muscles of their jaws
present some important distinctions, which will be described in the
proper place.

A difference not less remarkable, is the absence of a digastric, or of
any representative of that muscle, for depressing the lower jaw ; the
jaw does not move in that direction, and, consequently, the mouth can
only open by the simultaneous action of the muscles between the
shoulder and os hyoides, and between the latter and the lower jaw.

This last muscle (No. 27) answers to the genio-hyoideus and we
shall return to it.

But the lower jaw in fishes being able, in numerous species, to
approximate more or less, the two branches is furnished with a
proper muscle destined for this office (No. 21). It is placed across
the angle formed by the two branches and behind their symphysis,
above the anterior termination of the genio-hyoideus.

Muscles of the Palato- Tympanal Arch.

There is one muscle always occupying a considerable part of the
palatine arch ; it is a very thin layer of tranverse fibres which pass
from a part, more or less extended under the sphenoid and the great
wing, tranversely to the superior border of this arch and its internal
surface, being inserted chiefly in the temporal, and the adjacent part
of the box and internal pterygoid. This muscle depresses the arch,
and brings it to its fellow, a circumstance that contracts the lateral
space for the branchial apparatus.

PISHES. 319

Another depressor, larger and more extended, is sometimes farther
behind, and appears beneath the lateral part of the cranium, before
the depressor of the operculum ; in the perch this is wholly a slight
sub-division.

The elevator of this same arch, (No. 24), arises behind the orbit
beneath the edge of the posterior frontal, and before the elevator of
the operculum ; it is inserted into the upper part of the external sur-
face of the temporal, and into a portion of the external pterygoid. It
is the antagonist of the former, it draws the palatine arch, and dilates
the space destined for the branchiae.

We find then, that the palatine arch, composed of bones which we
have called palatine, pterygoid, internal, external, jugal, box and tem-
poral, has motion by its two articulations, the one anterior belonging
to the palatine, the other posterior attached to the temporal, and its
motion consisting of a drawing away of its inferior part from that of
its fellow, or of an approximation of them ; a motion which draws
away also the branches of the lower jaw and the opercular apparatus,
dilating at the same time the whole of the branchical apparatus.

This is an action indispensable to the process of respiration, and
which is cotemporaneous with the life of the fish.

Muscles of the Operculum.

The motions of the operculum are A^ery like those of the palatine
arch, and the muscles engaged in these motions are situated behind
those of the latter arch. There is also an external one (No. 25),
which raises the operculum, and another internal (No. 26), which
depresses it,

They are divided sometimes into several bellies : and in some spe-
cies the elevators form two or three distinct muscles.

The elevator (No. 25) is attached chiefly along the external crest
formed by the mastoidean bone ; the depressor (No. 26) is connected
with the inferior lateral surface in a part where the great wing and
petrous bone are united together and to the mastoidean. It is sepa-
rated from the depressor of the palatine arch (No. 24), by the fasci-
culus of superior anterior muscles of the branchiae.

The suboperculum and interoperculum have no proper muscles ;
they participate in the general motions made by the palato-temporal
arch, and by the operculum properly so called.

It is proper in this place to remark that the muscles which approx-
imate the branches of the hyoid, and contract the branchiostegal
membranee also contribute a part in bringing together the palatine
and opercular apparatus.*

Muscles of the Os Hyoides.

The principal, (No. 27), answers to the genio-hyoidean ; it departs
from the internal surface of the branch of the lower jaw near the sym-
physis, and supports itself on the sides of the hyoidean branch, into

* Quite as important a remark is this, that there is no analogy whatever between
the muscles of the operculum, and those of the minute bones of the ear in the mam-
malia.

320 FISHKs.

the first of the great pieces of which it is insetted Very frequently
tranverse fibres unite the two genio-hyoideans into a single mass, at
least in their middle part,as is exemplified in the pcreh. A trans-
verse muscular band often unites one branch of the hyoid with the
other, but the perch has nothing like this. As lor tin 1 remainder, the
muscles between the rays of the branchiostegal membrane act also
as a direct agent in bringing together the branches of the hyoid; nor
ought we lose sight of that portion of the great lateral muscle of the
body, (No. 1), which is directed to the body of the hyoid, and per-
forms the function to it of a sterno-hyoidean.

Muscles of the Branchiostegal Membrane.

There is generally a Layer of fibres (Nos. 28, 28) placed transver-
sely on the internal surface of the branchiostegal rays, occupying
more or less space, according to the species.

A part of these fibres arises from the internal surface of the opercu-
lum, towards its base ; but some of them also arise from the suboper-
culum: they pass over the rays, adhering to them only by cellular
tissue. They thus form a sort of purse round each of the branchial
cavities, which is complete in proportion to the smallness of the
branchial opening, sometimes those of one side unite with those of
the other, under the isthmus, wholly as in eels, or in part, as in the
eyclopterus, or Lophius : sometimes even as in eels, they are joined by
a raphe to the body of the os hyoides, and in general to the inferior
anterior part of the trunk ; but when the gills are well split, these
communications from one side to the other do not exist. However,
there is often a pair of very remarkable muscles which, crossing each
other, pass from the inferior ray of one of the membranes to the
anterior extremity of the opposite branch of the hyoides (Nos. 29,29);
they stretch the membrane, and draw it towards that of the other
side. As to the fibrous layer which is placed over the rays, its
general effect is to bring them nearer to each other, and to contract
the branchiostegal membrane.

There are also small peculiar muscles to each branchiostegal ray,
which have their other attachment to the neighbouring part of the
branch of the os hyoides, and which, according to the species and the
direction, contribute to dilate or contract the membrane; but their
existence is not constant. They are not found in the perch; but
they are easily observed in the Lophius and eyclopterus.

Muscles of the Branchial audi Pharyngeal AppavattMr.

These muscles may be divided into several groups, some suspend-
ing thus apparatus to the cranium, some to the spine, some are attached
to the humeral hone, and others to the body of the hyoid; finally
some of them arc proper to the apparatus, and unite its parts with
each other.

A first fasciculus is attached to the cranium, between the depressor
muscle of the palatine arcade, and that of the operculum, to the part
of the great wing, and of the petrous bone, which lies under the

FISHES. 321

articular fissure, which the posterior frontal, and the mastoidean,
present to the frontal.

The fasciculus is divided into two orders of ribbands, four external
and two or three internal.

The four external (Nos. 30, 30) are inserted into the back of the
superior pieces of the four arches of the branchiae ; the internal into
the two first pharyngeans.

These muscles raise the superior part of the apparatus, and draw it
towards the cranium ; at the same time, the external carry the arches
forwards, and dilate the intervals of the branchiae.

A second fasciculus is attached to the cranium, behind the depressor
muscle of the operculum, and is connected to the extremity of the
mastoidean bone.

It is composed of two ribbands, an anterior one (No. 32) which
goes to the superior piece of the fourth arch, more outwards than the
last of the externals of the preceding fasciculus, and a posterior one
(No. 33) which terminates in the tissue of the pharynx, behind the
third superior pharyngean.

The functions of this second group are nearly the same as those
of the first.

A third fasciculus consists of one muscle only, which is consider-
able (No. 41, pi. vi. fig iv.) and which commences at the internal and
posterior border of the third superior pharvngean, and passing across
the fibres of the pharynx, proceeds obliquely to attach itself to the
spine.

This muscle, carries the entire apparatus backwards, raising it at
the same time as the two preceeding fasciculi.

The superior part of the second arch has a particular muscle
attached to the side of the base of the cranium, nearly on the junction
of the great wing with the Basilar, and which passing horizontally is
inserted into the arch before the insertion of the external fasciculus
which this arch receives from the first fasciculus.

The action of this muscle is to draw the two rows of arches nearer
to each other, and to the axis of the base of the cranium, in which
they are seconded by the transverse muscles proper to the apparatus,
which we shall describe by and bye.

Three muscles act on the apparatus by means of the inferior pha-
ryngean in which they are inserted.

One of them (No. 35) comes from the superior crest of the body of
the os hyoides, above the insertion of the great lateral muscular. It
proceeds to the pharyngean ascending obliquely behind ; and draw-
ing it downwards and forwards, acts as an antagonist to that which is
attached to the spine.

The two others (Nos. 36, 37) go off from the humeral bone,
No. 36 from its inferior part, and ascending upwards; No. 37 from
its middle part, and it goes almost horizontally ; No. 36 lowers the
apparatus by drawing it backwards; No. 37 simply draws it back.

The pericardium, and the heart, arc placed between these three
muscles, and their fellows on the opposite side.

The muscles proper to the apparatus, are the transverse and the
oblique. The latter amount on the inferior surface to the number
vol. ii. y

322 FISHES.

of four on each side, and proceed from the azygos chain of small
bones to the inferior portion of each arch. The effect of their action
is to depress this part.

The transverse superiors (No. 39) are three, and are sent off from
each pharyngean to the adjacent part of the arch. The latter is
common to the pharyngeans, and to the arches of both sides.

There is only one inferior (No. 40) which is thick, and is between
one pharyngean and the other.

The latter two muscles are employed in bringing together the
pharyngeans, and in contracting slightly the apparatus in a trans-
verse direction. The same effect is produced by the first, up to a
certain extent.

This description of the muscles of the branchiae, which is chiefly
derived from the perch, applies to a large number of acanthoptery-
gians ; it does not however extend to all fishes, except with such
modifications as are of importance for the number and direction of
the ribbands belonging to the various fasciculi — modifications which
depend, as is very obvious, on the general form of the head, and on
the difference in size of the pharyngeans, as also on the functions in
which they employ the various sorts of contrivances wherewith they
are armed. We shall see some examples of this in the course of the
present work.

But the differences which are more essential in their nature are
those observed in the chondropterygians. Their branchial apparatus
has no operculum, and is surrounded with a general muscular en-
velop, that is frequently reinforced by a, sort of ribs. We shall give
a description of them in detail, when we come to this grand division
of the class of fishes.

So far as regards the analogies of these muscles, all that can be
said is that the fasciculus of suspensors has some relation with the
stylo-hyoideans and stylo-pharyngeans of man, and that the trans-
verse superiors can be compared to the hyo and to the crico-pharyn-
geans ; but these are affinities so very remote as that they cannot be
allowed to establish an undoubted analogy.

CHAPTER V.

Bruins and Nerves of Fishes,

After having described the mechanism of their motions, we now
pass to the system of the nervous organs of fishes, or to that contriv-
ance by which this mechanism is put into action.

This system is composed r as is the case with the superior tribes of
animals, of external senses, of a central medullary apparatus, and of
nerves which establish their communication. As, again, in the
higher orders, the central medullary apparatus, that is to say the
brain and spinal marrow, occupy the cavity of the skull and of
the vertebral canal.

FISHES. 323

The Brain.*

The most striking feature which we recognize in surveying the
brain of fishes is its extremely small size, not merely in reference to

* The brain of fishes has been studied and described with a little more attention
to detail than their muscles, and in modern times the distribution of the nerves has
been investigated witb care.

In 1685, Collins gave some figures of a certain number of fishes ; the designs
were of very moderate merit, and the explanations were all shallow, and not very-
consistent either. PI. 60 is a squalus, pi. 61 a white ray; in pi. 62 another ray,
the thornback, and an angel fish ; pi. 63 a cod, a lamprey, a trout, and an ombre ;
pi. 64 a carp ; pi. 65 a barbel, a plaice, a dab, a flounder, a sole and turbot ; pi. 66
a flounder, a perch, a gudgeon, and an eel ; pi. 67 a dory, a smelt, a herring, a fish
called a gurnet, but which I do not believe to be a real one ; pi. 68 an orphie, sal-
mon, mullet, and a mackarel ; pi. 69 a pike, tench, and perch. His pi. 70 repre-
sents the commencement of the spinal cord of a mullet, a gurnard, a carp, a pike,
and gudgeon.

In 1761 Camper in his Memoir on the Scaly Ear of Fishes, printed, in 1762,
amongst the memoirs of the Society of Harlem, gave a description and figure of the
brain of the cod, and in 1762 in a Memoir on the Ear of Fishes in general, printed
in 1774, in vol. vi. of those of learned foreigners of the Academy of Sciences, he
described and represented those of lophius and of the ray. He was the first who
determined its parts, and he gave the name of hemispheres to the hollow lobes placed
before the cerebellum, and tubercula quadrigemina to the little eminences which
they enclose ; the inferior lobes appeared to him to be the corpora albicantia.

In 1766 Haller, at the end of vol. iv. of his Physiology, gave a description of the
brain of the carp, and the same year he sent to the Harlem Academy a memoir on
the brain of birds and fishes, inserted in 17S8, in vol. iii. of his Opera Minora, p. 191.
In this work he describes those of the carp, a cyprinus, a tench, a fera, of a trout
from the lake of Geneva, and from that of the Alps, of the grayling, the perch and
ling. His descriptions are very detailed, but it is exceedingly difficult to comprehend
them, in consequence of the singular way in which he has applied names to various
parts ; and also because there are no figures. He calls the anterior lobes, anterior
olfactory tubercles ; those beneath inferior olfactory turbercles ; the hollow lobes
before the cerebellum, optic thalami ; still he gives the name cornua ammonii to the
large tubercles of their interior, and at the very time that he acknowledges that the
cerebellum is analogous to that in quadrupeds, he calls the lobes next the cerebellum
the cannalated bodies, and that of pineal gland to the globule which is between them
in the cyprius. These denominations are by no means fortunate, for the author
never meant to convey the notion that there was an agreement of parts.

In 1776 Vicq d'Azyr in his two memoirs on the anatomy of fishes printed amongst
those of learned foreigners presented to the Academy, has inserted some observations
on the brains of fishes, and represented but very indifferently those of the conger, the
eel, those of a labrus, of the otter pike, of the plaice, and the turbot. He does not
appear to have had very determined ideas on the names of the parts.

In 17S5 Monro in his anatomy of fishes, gave, pi. 34, a very good figure of the
brain of the ray, but what he says in his text p. 44, respecting the brain of fishes in
general amounts really to nothing.

Figures of the brain of the pike, the cai'p, and silurus, the names of the parts being
adopted from Camper, appeared in a thesis by M. Ebel, entitled Observations nevro-
logica ex anatome comparafa, published in 1788, and reprinted in 1793 in the Scrip-
tores nerrologici minores of Ludwig, vol. iii.

It was on the authority of these different authors that I published in 1800, in my
Lectures on Comparative Anatomy, vol. ii., my desc: iption of the brain of fishes.
Adopting the example of Camper and Ebel, I have there considered the middle lobes
as the true hemispheres, the tubercles which they contain, the quadrigemina and the
inferior lobes have appeared to me to be the optic thalami. I have given in vol. v.,
figures minutely representing the brains of the carp, eel, and moon-fish, I have also

y 2

324 iishes.

the proportion of the hotly, but in comparison with the mass of nerves
which it gives off, and with the cavity of the skull in which it is
lodged.

communicated in that work several general facts relating to the distribution of the
nerves ; and those of the head and adjacent parts in the carp are also represented.

In 1813 M. Apostole-Arsaky, in a thesis supported hy him at Halle, De cerebro et
medulla spinah piscium, has represented the brains of the conger, the sword-fish, the
hake, the inotella, the star-gazer, the ribband-fish, the scorpaena, the dory, the sole,
the moon-fish, the sparusraii, the sargus, the sparus salpa, the boops, the saurel,
the mullet, the grondin, the white shark, the zygsena, the scyllium, and the ray.
This is the richest and the most correct collection of this genus. The author in tin*
work considers the hollow lobes immediately before the cerebellum as the analogues
of the tubercula quadrigemina, and those which are placed before the latter as repre-
senting alone the hemispheres.

In 1817 M. Weber in his Anatomia comparata nervi Sympathici, printed at Leispsic,
gives again the brain of the carp, and continues to call the hollow lobes hemis-
pheres ; but it in the azygos lobe or cerebellum that he tfiinks he sees the analogue
of the tubercula quadrigemina, and he calls the lobes behind the azygos those which
border and cover the fourth ventricle. In 1820 in his treatise I)e awe et audita
hominis et animulium, he represents also the brain of the carp, and adds to it that of
the silurus. Independently of these, we are indebted to this skilful anatomist for
important discoveries respecting the Neurology of fishes, but especially for that of
the superior longitudinal nerve, which he believes is always given off by the fifth
pair, but to which also the eight very often contributes.

The same year M. Fenner in a thesis published at Jena, De anatomia comparata
et naturali philosophia commentatio etc., clings still to the notion that the true brain
is in the hollow lobes, and he places the optic thalami in the inferior lobes.

The same year also M. G. R. Treviranus in a memoir on the brain, inserted in
the third volume of the collection which he published in conjunction with his brother,
gives also his theory of the brain of fishes. The anterior lobes appeared to him to
represent the olfactory bulbs of the brain in the mammalia; the hollow lobes anterior
to the cerebellum, in which, as he calls them, the posterior hemispheres are analogues
of the posterior parts of the optic thalami, but he attributes to them the functions of
the brain itself; the tubercles which they contain are the quadrigemina ; the inferior
lobes, the corpora albieantia. Thus, it will be seen, that he separates himself very
little from M. Camper, and his followers.

The Academy of Sciences proposed, on my solicitation, as the subject of one of
their prizes for 1821, a comparative description of (he brain, throughout the four
classes of vertebrated animals, and this was a direct excitement to fresh inves-
tigations.

The author who obtained the prize, M. Scire, published his work in 1824, ill'
which he describes and represents the brains of the ray, the white shark, the angeL
fish, the spotted-dog-fish, the sturgeon, the conger, the eel, the cod, the whiting, the
haddock, the turbot, the sole, carp, barbel, tench, pike, perch, gurnard, and lophius.
His figures are unfortunately executed with the greatest negligence. From the large
volume and the cavity of the tubercula quadrigemina in the foetus of the mammalia,
he is induced with M. Arsaky to regard the lobes anterior to the cerebellum, as the
analogues of these tubercles, and the brain generally, as a complete representation,
in most respects of that of the foetus in the higher animals.

M. Desmoulins, who had also contended for the prize, published in conjunction
with M. Majendie, a work more extensive in its nature than that which he had
transmitted to the Academy. He describes in the second hook of this work,
vol. 1. p. 140 — 183, the cerebro-spinal system of fishes, and furnishes many observa-
ions on their various nerves. TIN descriptions are illustrated by representations of
the brains, and detached portions of the nervous system of the thornbaek, of the
rough ray, torpedo, lamprey, several of the sharks, of the sturgeon, moon-fish, of
two mullets, the otter pike, the barbel, the carp, the cod, the whiting, the ling, the
lump fish, turbot-carp, and conger. He adopts with M. Serre the ideas of Arsaky on
the different lobes.

FISHES. 325

It does not at all fill the cavity, and the interval between the pia
mater which nearly binds it, and the dura mater, which lines the
interior of the cranium, is occupied only with a loose cellular tissue,
or a sort of arrachnoid, that is frequently impregnated with an
oil, or even sometimes, as in the sturgeon and the tunny, with a very
compact fat.

It has been observed that this space between the cranium and the
brain is much less in the young fishes than in the adult ones, a proof
that their brain does not grow in the same proportion as the rest of
their body, and we have actually found its dimensions very nearly the
same in species in which one was, in other respects, double the other.

The lobes composing the brain are placed in succession, and repre-
sent very often a sort of double chaplet. There are also tubercles,
and these sometimes are pretty numerous, which are hidden in the
interior or beneath one of the great lobes*.

To come to the knowledge of the analogy between these various
lobes and tubercles with those of the brains of the other classes, we
must first start from a fixed point, and this we shall make the cere-
bellum, (a, pi. VI, fig. V. VI, VII, and IX).

This is a portion respecting the nature of which no misunderstand-
ing can arise, for it is characterized by having no fellow, and having
its position across the upper part of the spinal marrow, and is joined by
the sides so as to resemble a bridge.

In front of this cerebellum may be seen without dissection, on the
superior surface, a first pair of lobes (b, b, ib,) the interior of which is
permanently hollow, and which are preceded by one and sometimes by
two other pairs (c, c, ib,) which are generally solid. In the interior
of the hollow lobes upon their floor, and in front of the cerebellum,
are often one or two pairs of small tubercles (d, ib, fig. IX). At the
inferior surface, there are, under the hollow lobes, another pair of
protuberances (e, e, ib, fig. VIII), which we call inferior lobes ; and
between them, in front, is suspended an azygos body ff,) which cor-
responds to what is called the pituitary gland. Behind the cerebellum
are other lobes (g, g,) different in number and formation, of which the
superior class offers nothing except its vestiges, and which we call the
posterior lobes.

Certain anatomists take the hollow lobes for the hemispheres of the
brain, the lobes placed too far in front for the analogues of the olfactory
protuberances of the superior class, and the inferior lobes to be ana-
logous to the optic lobes of birds; others consider the inferior lobes
as analogous to the mamillary protuberances of the mammalia, the
hollow lobes as those of the optic lobes of birds ; they place the brain,
properlv so called, in the anterior lobes, notwithstanding their minute-
ness and simplicity, and seem inclined to admit only the olfactory
protuberances in the lobes which sometimes precede them there, or

* The brain of the perch is represented in its natural situation, with the nerves
of the head and shoulder, pi. VI, fig. V ; it is figured separately by its superior
surface, ib, fig. VI ; laterally fig. VII; from below fig. VIII. At figure IX, the
plate represents the hemispheres opened, and the cerebellum put aside after having
cut one of its connections. The superficial nerves of the body are represented with
the muscles PI. IV (the first of Myology) and the deep seated nerve* PI. V.

326 . FISHES.

rather which are sometimes distinguished from them hy a constriction.
Before deciding between these opinions, it is necessary to enter into
larger details upon the form and composition of these parts, and upon
the principle variations which they undergo in different species.

The relative size of the cerebellum («) is also considerable, and it
often surpasses in volume the parts situated in front of it ; its lateral
lobes either do not exist, or only form very slight protuberances.

In osseous fishes, for example in the perch, its form is frequently
that of a soft cone, the summit of which is curved backwards, nearly
like an inverted phrygian hat; and nevertheless there are, also, some like
the mackarel, in which its summit bends forwards ; and others, as the
tunny, in which it extends backwards and forwards in such a manner
as to receive all the remaining part of the brain.

In the chondropterygians, it assumes very different forms and vol-
umes ; sometimes it is almost reduced to a transverse bar, as in the
sturgeon and lampreys, sometimes round or oval, or lobed, and very
voluminous, as in the ray, and more especially in certain squalus.

Its surface is sometimes transversely furrowed, particularly in
several of the squalus and the tunny, and even when it is smooth, as
is generally the case, there is seen in the interior of its substance a
medullary axis, which gives out rami f_ cations of the same nature in
the cortical substance, and which is hollowed by a cavity that commu-
nicates with the fourth ventricle.

The hollow lobes (b, b) placed immediately before the cerebellum,
and upon the nature of which there are different opinions, are of an
oval form.

In the greatest number of osseous fishes, their envelope presents
two layers, often very easily separated, the external one is grey, the
internal one white.

The fibres of the external layer, obliquely directed from behind
forwards, terminate for the most part in the optic nerve ; but they co-
operate in its formation with other fibres arising, some from the in-
ferior lobe, others from the medulla oblongata, and some even, as
may be seen in the rays, from the anterior lobe.

The fibres of the internal layer of the hollow lobe, much more easily
discovered than the others in osseous fishes, are directed transversely,
and line the arch of the common ventricle enclosed in the hollow
lobes.

They appear to arise from a semi-circular pad {h h, fig. ix), of
greyish matter, which occupies on each side the base of this ventricle,
as the fibres of the roof of the hemispheres in the human subject
rise from' notched bodies.

The arches of the hollow lobes unite in a median line, which forms
a species of callous body, and a ridge projecting inwards ; but there
is no cumplete septum.

Upon the floor of this ventricle are seen (in the osseous fishes) two
or four tubercles of a greyish substance (d, fig ix.) and placed before
the base of the cerebellum upon the aqueduct, which leads from the
ventricle of the hollow lobes into that which is under the cerebellum,
and at its posterior, which corresponds to the fourth ventricle in the"
higher classes.

FISHES. 327

The number, forms, and relative proportions of these tubercles vary
according to their genera.

In certain fishes, as the carp, the anterior pair is long, and directed
backwards, being bent like a ram's horn.

In others as the mackarel, the posterior pair is greatest ; it forms
a curve forwards, and appears to fold itself like an intestine.

In the tunny there are as many as three tubercles on each side,
some placed beside others, and resembling so many folds of in-
testines.

These are wholly wanted in the chondropterygians where we can
no longer trace distinct fibres on the inner surface of the hollow
lobes.

In the greater number however of fishes, especially in the perches,
pikes, herrings, cods, &c, the internal tubercles amount to four,
varying but little in size.

The nerve of the fourth pair arises behind tbe hollow lobes,
the tubercles which they contain, and the furrow which separates
them from the anterior base of the cerebellum ; sometimes it arises a
little on the side, but not at all below, as has been represented.

It is difficult to trace the medulla oblongata in its course towards
the anterior portions, and to see it passing, after leaving the cerebel-
lum, by its more external fibres into the hollow lobes (b, bj, and by its
more internal ones into the anterior lobes.

These latter lobes when they are not perfectly soldered together, as
often happens in the rays and squalus, communicate with each other,
at least by one and sometimes two commissures (A). The proportion
between them is various ; very commonly they are smaller than the
hollow lobes ; they are very large in the eels : but in the rays and
squali their superiority is quite enormous.

The ganglions or tubercles (7, t) which are sometimes before the
anterior lobes, these lobes being sometimes found to be two pairs, as
in the eels, are not joined to one another by a commissure, but each
is united to the lobe before it ; and we are enabled to trace the olfac-
tory nerve beneath the inferior surface as far as the commissure (k) of
the anterior lobes (c, cj.

There is always a commissure (in) for joining the anterior portions
of the base of the two hollow lobes ; and it is behind this and before the
four tubercles contained in these lobes, that the ventricle opens, which
is analogous to the third ventricle in man, and which leads as usual
to the infundibulum, and towards the putuitary gland on the inferior
surface of the brain.

The two lobes (e, e) which we have called the inferior, are seen at
the sides of the infundibulum. They are generally tolerably large, of
the shape of a kidney, and a ventricle is seldom found in their in-
terior.

When however, it is found, it communicates w r ith the third ven-
tricle, and through it with the great ventricle Avhich is common to the
two hollow lobes.

The inferior tubercles (e e,) furnish very evidently the fibres of the
optic nerve, and behind them, and also in the furrow by which they

328 FISHES

are distinguished from the remainder of the medulla oblongata, the
nerve of the third pair arises.

These appear to me to be much larger in the surmullet than in any
other species of fish, they are excavated by a ventricle, and their sur-
face is furrowed.

The name to be given to the pairs of lobes just described, and
which are situated in front of the cerebellum, will depend on the re-
lative importance that may be attributed either to the complication of
their structure, or to their being the origin of the optic nerve.

If we attend to the origin of the optic nerve, it is certain that we
shall lind an analogy between the hollow lobes and this external pair
of lobes of brain in birds, to which latter the name of optic thalami
has been given, but which are stated by M. Gall to be the analogues
of the tubercula quadrigemina.

But if we attend to the structure of the hollow lobes, to that semi-
circular part (A), a sort of notched body forming the internal base of
their envelope, and from which the tranverse fibres of their roof are
given off, then if we attend to the position of the third ventricle, to
that of the commissure (?n), placed before the opening of the ventricle,
and which necessarily corresponds with the anterior commissure of
the brain, with the small tubercles (d) hidden in their interior, and
which so closely resemble by their position, figure, and relations the
tubercula quadrigemina of the mammalia ; if all those are carefully
attended to, we shall not fail to recognize in them, the whole of the
characters that are essential to the brain of the vertebrated classes.

This analogy will be confirmed if we make a comparison between
the above parts, and such of the mammalia as have the anterior por-
tion of their hemispheres, from which the olfactory nerve immediately
arises, separated from the rest by a furrow sufficiently deep, and
representing the anterior lobes of fishes (e, c).

The tortoise, toad, and several other reptiles, will likewise confirm
this view. The olfactory lobe of their brain resembles the anterior
lobes of fishes, and their brain the hollow lobes of the latter. It has
the same bodies analogous to the notched ones, the same commissures,
the same entrance for the third ventricle, and for the infundibulum.
But in the reptiles the tubercle, analogous to the tubercula quadri-
gemina are large and hollow as in birds, approximated to each other
above as in quadrupeds, and visible externally, whilst in the fishes they
are at the same time, as in quadrupeds, solid, approximated to each
other, small and hidden, by the hemisphere which is supported behind
as far nearly as the cerebellum.

It is useless to make the remark, that in the embryos of quadrupeds
and birds, the hemispheres are almost as small, and the tubercula qua-
drigemina as great, in proportion as the interior and hollow lobes of
fishes. The hemispheres in them are not therefore solid masses, and
the tubercles, although hollow, do not present in their interior,
notched bodies and other tubercles, still smaller. It is not under
them that we find the anterior commissure of the brain, nor are they
intercepted by the third ventricle. In the reptiles which have been
also collected for comparison, it is true as we have already said, that

FISHES. 329

the optic tubercles are hollow as in the birds. But the hemispheres
are also hollow and contain a notched body, and in a word, resem-
bles in every point the hollow lobes of fishes ; indeed, so strong is the
resemblance, that they have also before, a set of solid lobes, which arc
their olfactory lobes.

A more plausible argument is drawn from the position of the pineal
gland.

But in reality this part is not seen in a great number of fishes ; still
it would be difficult not to see in the eel, and especially the conger, a
small globular body of grey substance, placed anteriorly to the hollow
lobes and inserted into the posterior base of the solid lobes before
them by two small slips.

In the cod and other fishes, where there is no globule, we can detect
at least, a small medullary thread floating in this place.

If these parts represent the pineal gland and its pedicles, we shall
then be obliged to confess, no matter what system of analogy we
adopt, that there must be in the brain of fishes, at least, a transposi-
tion of connected parts. The third ventricle and infundibulum must
be flung into the back ground in the hypothesis, which represents the
hollow lobes as the analogues of the tubercula quadrigemina, and the
pineal gland must be brought forward in the hypothesis which consi-
ders these lobes as the hemispheres.

With respect to the inferior lobes (e, e) since they manifestly give
out a portion of the fibres of the optic nerves, I considered them for-
merly as the analogues of the optic lobes in birds, which would have
descended still lower than the flying class ; but other anatomists pre-
fer the conclusion, that they are the analogues of the corpora albi-
cantia of man and other mammalia, eminences that are wanted in
birds and reptiles, and which, if this opinion were true, would abruptly
appear again in the fishes, and much larger in size than in the
mammalia.

I must confess, that I am not a convert to the arguments in favour
of such allegations, and I have witnessed in the scale of living beings,
very little of those returns to life, of organs which suddenly spring up
in some single class, after having disappeared in one or two of those
above it in the scale.

One peculiarity of the brain in fishes, not less remarkable than all
the preceding, consists in its lobes (g, g) being situated behind the
cerebellum on the sides of the fourth ventricle, forming frequently as
the cerebellum itself, a bridge across the ventricle.

Their proportions vary very much, and the differences of their forms
and connections are numerous.

In the rays and squalus, and even in the sturgeon, there are folds
or slips which prolong on each side the posterior edge of the base of
the cerebellum, and are supported behind in bordering the fourth
ventricle.

In most fishes, they consist of two tubercles or projections from the
sides of the spinal marrow behind the cerebellum, which are touched
at some point, or are united by a commissure.

In the cyprins, their volume is considerable, covering the whole of
this part of the spinol cord. Two small bosses are distinguished in

330 FISHES.

front, one being placed in the middle, whilst the lateral portions are
transversely striated.

I found them also very considerable in the surmullets where their
surface is marked by tortuous furrows, like that of a brain.

In the gurnards we have seen as many as five bosses on each side,
arranged in a row, rounded, occupying a space that extends as far as
the second vertebrae, and which, is just as long as the remainder of the
brain. From the latter of these tubercles, the second pair of spinal
nerves is given off, it terminates in the three rays which in this genus
are attached beneath the pectoraL

These lobes have been compared to the little greyish band which,
in mammalia, is placed across -the corpus restifor me, or medullary
cord, which passes behind the cerebellum to the medulla, and border-
ing on each side the fourth ventricle ; but it must be admitted, that
this would be a prodigious dcvelopcmcnt of them.

In the bottom of the fourth ventricle, slight longitudinal furrows are
observed, which already mark the division of the medullary fasciculi,
the external of which proceed to the hollow holes, and terminate at
the swelling (A. A), which I have called the notched body ; the mid-
dle ones are continued as far as the anterior lobes (c, c). We see here,
also, the lineaments which seem to indicate the origins of the nerves
of the fifth, seventh, and eighth pairs.

There is nothing below, bearing a resemblance to the potisvctfdUi;
but furrows are visible, which appear to distinguish the fasciculi just
mentioned. The middle ones represent the corpora pyramidalia ; but
the fibres do not appear to be crossed. There are no corpora oli-
varid, .unless we wish to search' for them in the tubercles above the
medulla (a, (/), but in that case ' they would be much higher than in
mammalia. On the side of the medulla" are seen the restiform
fasciculi, which terminate at the ccrebulltim.

The pituitary gland (f) is situated as usual, under the brain, at the
extremity of the infundibulum. In fishes, it is generally large and
accompanied by membranous and vascular appendages of various
forms. ' In the Ray, these appendages are particularly remarkable.
Sometimes, as in the lophius,the aigrefin, &c. the infundibulum is
prolonged to a thread, and the pituitary gland is placed far in front.
The same obscurity with regard to its use exists in fishes as in the
other classes of animals.

The Nerves and Spinal Marrow.

The olfactory nerves (a a) come from the anterior tuburcles (c, c)
and very often we find again a swelling at their root (i, z) : they vary
much in size and composition; sometimes merely capillary, sometimes
thick though single, and sometimes double, triple, or composed of
threads more numerous, which form a bundle. In many fishes,
they swell to the size of a ganglion before they are distributed to the
pituitary membrane, and it has been remarked that this happens
chiefly in the species where there is no swelling at their base, in
front of the anterior lobes.

The optic nerves (11, n) cross each other in front of the infun-

FISHES. 33 J

dibulum (/), and in most fishes without uniting or sticking to each
other, their connexion being' by mere cellular tissue.

In the perch, or the cod for example, it is easy to uncross them
and see that the nerve of the light eye comes from the left side of
the medulla, and vice versa. But in the Ray their union is so inti-
mate, that their crossing is as problematical as it is in mammalia.

In a certain number of osseous fishes, their structure is very
remarkable, inasmuch, as their medullary substance is no more than a
large thin ribband folded longitudinally to fill the tube with which it
is furnished by the dura mater; but there are other fishes in which
it is composed as usual, of a bundle of nervous threads.

We have already pointed out the origin of the third (jo), and
fourth (</), pairs.

The fifth, or trigeminal nerve (/•), arises from the sides of the
fourth ventricle, below and close to the anterior part of the lobes (</),
Maced behind the cerebellum, or the crura of the cerebellum itself.
The roots of it can be traced more deeply and in different directions.

The origins of the eight pair, or par vagum (t), which arc almost
as considerable as those of the fifth pair, are behind tU>o latter; they
arise most frequently in several filaments which come out on a single
longitudinal line, on the sides of the medulla, under the lobes behind
the cerebellum ; they form a ganglion (f), after which they are sub-
divided.

Between the fifth and eight pairs, we recognise the acoustic nerves
(s, s), and there is usually, in front of the eighth pair, a particular
nerve (v, v), which answers to the glosso-pharyngeal. The ninth
pair is not found in fishes.

The spinal nerves, reckoning from the tenth pair, arise as in the
superior classes, from the spinal marrow by two sets of roots ; but
they do not always arise near the foramina in the vertebral column,
through which they pass. There are even species, such as the
Moon-fish, in which the spinal marrow is so shortened as to seem to
be no more than a small conical prominence of the brain, from which
the different pairs of nerves go out as from a horse's tail.*

In others, such as the lump-fish, it is prolonged and swelled oppo-
site each pair. In general, it does not terminate till near the end of
the spine. The nerves of the superior roots have scarcely any sen-
sible swelling as a ganglion in the chondropterygians ; it has been
even denied that they have any swelling Whatever in osseous fishes.
It is, however, certain that they form sufficiently well marked ganglia
in the Bar, the Perch, &c.

The first pairs of spinal nerves are collected more or less into a
plexus, to he sent off to the pectoral fin. In the Ray, in which the
fin is so enormous, it receives nerves from many other parts of the spine.

The great sympathetic nerve (xx, fig. iv.) derives its roots, as
usual, from the different Spinal nerves, and forms divers plexuses
and ganglia in its distribution to the viscera. In general, its tenuity

* It is utterly wrong, as Arsnky and others on his authority have said, that there
is nothing like this in the lophius ; its spinal marrow measures almost the whole
length of the spine, but it is enveloped and concealed by the nerves, which arise
much higher than they go out.

332 FISHES.

is extreme, and even some have attempted to deny its existence in
the chondropterygians ; but this is an error, for I have seen it very
distinctly in the Ray. In the Moon-fish, its ganglia are tolerably
large. It can be traced in the head as far as the nerves of the fifth
fair ; but hitherto its junction with the sixth has not been made out
with sufficient distinctness. I believe, however, I have seen it in the
cod.

The distribution of these different nerves is particularly remark-
able, on account of its resemblance to what takes place in the supe-
rior classes. Each pair has the same destination : the first supplies
the organ of smell; the second, by its expansion, forms the retina
of the eye; the third, fourth, and sixth, go to the muscles of the eye,
each to the same muscles, as in quadrupeds, or birds : that is the third
supplying nearly all the muscles ; the fourth the obliquus superior ;
the sixth the abductor. The third also penetrates into the interior
of the globe, furnishing the filaments of its choroid membrane ; but
it appears not to form an ophthalmic ganglion, at least, it has not been
hitherto discovered.

The fifth and eighth pairs are the most important, and those which
are distributed to the greatest number of different parts.

The fifth comes out of the cranium through a foramen of the great
wing, which is frequently divided into two by a small bony slip. Its
division into branches (pi. vi. fig. v.) occurs in its course, according
to the species ; but it uniformly gives, first, an opthalmic branch (a),
which, ascending through the upper part of the orbit, goes to the
nostril, and is distributed to the adjacent parts to the top of the snout,
and to the intermaxillary bone ; second, a superior maxillary branch
(3) which passing beneath the eye, is distributed to the cheek, and
superior maxillary bone ; it sends a branch towards the nostril, and
anastomoses with the pterygo-palatine ; third, an inferior maxillary
branch (S) which is often only a division of the preceding, giving
twigs to the posterior part of the palate, and terminates at the lower
jaw, and at its dental canal ; frequently the threads of the palate are
supplied by a particular branch ; fourth, a pterygo-palatine branch (\),
which passing forwards, traverses the bottom of the orbit, under the
muscles of the eye, and following the direction of the vomer, passes
between this bone and the palatine, to terminate at the tip of the
snout, where it forms remarkable anastomoses with the superior max-
illary ; fifth, an opercular branch (/"), which traversing a canal of the
temporal bone, gives branches to the crotaphite, to the cheek, the
muscles of the operculum, to the operculum itself, penetrating late-
riorly, it joins in front with the inferior maxillary nerve, and is dis-
tributed behind to the inferior opercular pieces, and to the branchios-
tegal membrane; and lastly, almost always sixth, a branch (£),
which, ascending towards the top of the cranium, unites with a branch
of the eighth pair, (0) to pass out by a foramen of the parietal and
interparietal, and running along the back in (©), at the sides of the
dorsal fins, it receives twigs from all the intercostals, and furnishes
others to the muscles and rays of the fins.

The course of this branch is superficial, until it dips under the small
external muscles of the rays. It has sometimes also superficial
branches which descend to the anterior parts of the muscles of the

FISHES. 333

trunk, over the pectorals, as well as others which go towards the
anal, where they form a longitudinal nerve like that of the back.

This nerve is very large in the silures, and has been described in
the common silure, and in the lote by M. Weber; but it is found
much smaller, in many other fishes, and probably in all.*

The seventh pair of nerves (.?, s), as in the other vertebrae belongs
to the gills, and arises on the sides of the medulla oblongata, between
the fifth and the eighth pair, and is divided variously, to penetrate
into the sacs which contain the stones, and the ampullae of the semi-
circular canals. It also contracts unions with the last branch of the
fifth pair (,«.). One of these unions with the first branch of eighth or
gloss-pharyngeal (v, v.) is constant.

It is chiefly in the distribution of the eighth pair, that we may
admire the uniformity with which each nerve adheres in all classes,
to the performance of the same functions.

The glosso-pharyngeal passes out of the cranium, sometimes by a
foramen of the lateral occipital, sometimes, as in the cod, by a foramen
of the petrous bone, and is distributed to the first branchia, to some of
the surrounding parts, and passes to the tongue, in which it is ex
panded.

The vagus, properly so called, comes out of the cranium through a
foramen of the lateral occipital larger than the preceeding, and some-
times dilates close to its origin, as in the carp ; at others, as in the
perch, this dilatation into aganglion occurs at a greater distance ; the
ganglion (t) furnishes branches to the three last branchiae, and to the
inferior pharyngeans. The trunk of the nerve is continued on the
pharynx, and follows the aesophagus to the stomach.

It will he observed that this distribution is the same, as that which
obtains in the other vertebrata?, with respect to the functions which the
nerve performs, the only difference is, that it has modified its course
by going to the respiratory organ, because this organ itself has
changed its place.

But this pair furnishes another nerve, and sometimes two : whose
relation to those of the superior classes are not quite so apparent.
The first is a branch which comes out sometimes from the anterior
base of this pair, sometimes from the posterior border of its ganglion,
passing in a straight line to the extremity of the tail. In a great
number of fishes, particularly in the perch, after giving a superficial
twig (■*) which follows the commencement of the lateral line, this
nerve proceeds in a straight line (f) in the substance of the lateral
muscles, between the ribs and their appendices, receiving from all the
nerves of the spine, different particular twigs from the intercostals, and
furnishing twigs to the skin through all the intervals of the muscular
layers.

In others, as in the cod, it is superficial throughout its entire
length, and seems to have no communication with the spinal nerves,
or if it has, at least, it is not easily traced.

* We can have seen in the lote, the morue, the perch, the bar, the carp, the com-
mon silure, the bagre, &c. That of the carp comes from the eighth pair, and not
from the fifth ; that of the silure on the contrary comes only from the fifth ; but in
the morue and perch, &c, it comes from both pairs.

»

334 FISHES.

In the carp, these communications take place by exceedingly fine
threads.*

The second of these nerves ( s ) is that which unites with a branch
of the fifth pair, to form the dorsal nerve, (©) of which we have
already spoken.

The branch (?) which gives twigs to the diaphragm, comes also
from the nerve of the eighth pair.

The last of the nerves of the cranium, comes from the medulla
oblongata, after the eigth pair ; it gives a branch to the natatory
bladder, after which its main trunk is distributed to the anterior part
of the shoulder, going as far as the muscles, which extend from the
humerus to the os hyoides ; but branches are sent off from it to anas-
tomose with the first spinal, and this plexus forms the trunk from
which the nerves of the external muscles of the pectoral fin, and
those of its anterior surface proceed.

The second spinal pair ( w ) gives nerves to the interior muscles,
and posterior surface of this same fin.

In the tringles, this pair is remarkable from the size it assumes in
coming out of the ventebral canal, and from the large branches which
it gives to the free rays, placed in these under the pectoral fin. It
arises in this fish at the side of the last of the five pairs of tubercles
which follow the cerebellum in the singular organization of this
genus.

In fishes whose pelvis is suspended from the bones of the shoulder,
whether their ventrals come out in front of the pectorals or under
them, or behind, the ventrals derive their nerves from the third and
fourth spinaJ pairs ; the third supplies their muscles attached to the
pelvis ; the fourth supplies them also, but it is for the most part dis-
tributed to their rays : these muscles also receive some twigs from
the fifth.

In the fishes called jugular, whose ventrals are attached farther
forwards than the pectorals, these nerves ai'e curved below to reach
the parts under the throat for which they are destined ; but they arise
from the same pairs.

This is not the case with the fishes called abdominal. The nerves
which supply their ventrals come from more distant pairs. In the
carp, they are furnished from the seventh and eighth spinal pairs.

* M. Weber has thought, that it was a character proper to the dorsal nerve to
receive twigs from the spinal nerves ; but the lateral nerve from the eighth pair,
receives twigs from them also in a great many fishes, and probably this will be
found to be the case in all.

Plate IV (in ©) exhibits a part of the dorsal nerve formed by the fifth and eighth
pair, before it dips down under the small lateral muscles of the rays, and (in jf ) the
superficial nerve from the eighth pair, which runs under the lateral line. We have
represented in pi. V, the dorsal nerve (in 0) throughout its entire extent, with the
filaments it receives from all the nerve-; of the spine; and the deep seated lateral
nerve {tot it) of the eighth pair, which passing under the appendices of the ribs,
also receives filaments from all the spinal nerves, and goes to its termination in a
plexus on the side of the end of the tail. The branch of the first, which, in the cod
for instance, follows the base of the anal, could not be shown because we could not
find it in the perch.

FISHES. 335

The chondropterygians differ little from oilier fishes, with respect
to the distribution of the nerves of the cranium ; but their nerves of
the pectoral arise from a much greater number of origins. At all
events we shall treat of their neurology in a more special manner
when we come to their history.

CHAPTER VI.

Organs of the external Senses in Fishes.*

The senses of smell, sight, and hearing are conferred on fishes by
organs, analogous to those of other classes, and arranged in the same
manner: if their taste be feeble, there is nevertheless reason to be-
lieve, that it also resides in the covering of the tongue, unless the
singular tissues which are found in the palate of some species, such
as the cyprins, should also be regarded as the seat of it. As to the
touch, besides their general integuments the sensibility of which varies
to infinity, particular dispositions of certain parts, which become
more or less prolonged, and more or less moveable according to the
the species, furnished them with organs, which are often as sin-
gular, as they are remarkable.

The Ei/e.f

The eye in fishes is suspended in an orbit, of which the composition
has been already described, in the chapter on osteology; vaulted

* Tlie organs of sight, hearing, and smell taken from the perch, are represented
pi. vii. viz: the nostrils fig. 11-; the eye from fig. iii. to viii. ; the ear fig. 9
and 10.

f The folded membrane -which forms the optic nerve has been described and drawn
by Malpighi in the xiphias.

The memoirs of Petit the physician, inserted in those of the Academy ef Sciences
for the years 1726 and 1730, contain several good observations on the eye of fishes.
In the memoirs of the latter year, he enters into details, respecting the forms and
curvatures of its parts, and partiexdarly of the crystalline lens of several salt and fresh
water fishes. Haller studied and described all the parts with accuracy, but only in
fresh water fishes, in the memoirs of 1762. His work presented with additions to
the Society of Gottingen in 1766 was reprinted in latin in his opera minora, vol. iii.
In this work, he describes the falciform ligament of the crystalline lens, the two
lamina of the retina, &e. : he takes the red body which lies between the ruyschian
and the selerotic for a muscle.

Vicq d'Azyr, in his memoirs on fishes, does not speak of the eye ; and Monro con-
fines himself to a few details on its humours, considered in a dioptrical point of
view.

I have added some facts in my lectures on comparative anatomy, vol. iii. in which
I have shown particularly the differences in the eyes of the chondropterygians; other
facts will be found in a. memoir of M. Rosenthal, printed in 1811, in the tenth
volume of the Archives Physiologiques de lleil.

M. de Soemmering' sj sou gives, in his dissertation on the transverse section of the
eye, (Gottingen 1818, in folio,) five drawings of sections of the eye of the sturgeon,
the aiguillat, the ray, the cod, and the pike.

Some useful facts will ( *uso be found in M. Angely's thesis on the eye and

336 FISHES.

above by the principal frontal, bounded in front and behind by the
anterior and posterior frontals, the frame of this orbit is completed
beneath by the chain of suborbitary bones; the anterior sphenoid,
with the membranes attached to it occupy the bottom ; lastly, its floor is
in part supported by the pterygoidean, and by a more or less con-
siderable portion of the other bones of the pterygopalatine appa-
ratus.

The position, direction, and size of the eye in fishes, vary to
infinity.

In some, they look towards the heavens, and are frequently very
close to each other ; in others, far asunder, placed at the sides, and
even directed somewhat downwards. But in all this variety of
direction, we observe the most extraordinary one in the genus of
pleuronectes (turbots, plaice, soles, &c,) in which the two eyes are
placed one above the other, or at the same side of the head. In certain
fishes of the genera, eels, and silures, the eyes are so small as to be
scarcely perceivable ; Avhilst in others, such as the priacanthus, or the
pomatomus, they exceed by the proportional diameter any thing with
which we are acquainted in the superior classes. It may, however, be
stated, that the eye is larger in fishes in general, and particularly that
the pupil is large and open, a disposition which is well adapted for
collecting the rays of light at the bottom of the Avater, where they
penetrate in such small quantity.

It has no true eye-lashes : the skin passes over the eye, and forms
there a conjunction slightly adherent which is often sufficiently tran-
sparent to permit the rays of light to pass to that organ. In certain
fishes, for example the eel, it passes without causing the least fold :
there are some, as the cecilia and gastrobranchiae, in which it re-
mains opaque, and hides all traces of the eye. In others, such as the
mackarel, and the herring, it forms an adipose fold before and behind ;
but these folds are fixed, and without muscles or motion : in the
squalus they are slightly moveable at the inferior border of the orbit.
Sometimes, as in the moon-fish, the skin is puffed out around the eye,
and is furnished internally with fibres that constitute a kind of
sphincter, whose action is counterbalanced by several layers of fibres
in the direction of the rays.

The globe of the eye* is slightly moveable. Like that of the human

lachyrmal organs (Erlang 1803); in Muck's thesis on the ophthalmic ganglion
(Landshut 1815) ; and in M. Massalien's, on the eyes of the tunny, and of the
cuttle-fish (Berlin 1815). Lastly, M. Jurine has published in 1821, in the first volume
of the Physical Society of Geneva, observations on the eye of the tunny, in which lie
throws out important remarks on the eyes of other fishes.

* Fig. ii. pi. vii. represents the globe of the eye, entire, seen from behind, the
muscles being separated, and exhibiting the hole for the nerves ; the oily body would
appear, through the selerotic. In fig. iv. the selerotic is opened, and the lobes
separated ; the optic nerve is denuded of its covering, and unfolded ; the greasy
body may be seen naked beneath the selerotic. In fig. v. this greasy body is en-
veloped, as well as the silvered layer which envelopes the choroid, and the red body
may be seen naked, and in the form of an horse shoe, placed between this layer and
the choroid. Fig. vi. is the globe deprived of its selerotic and cornea, and viewed
laterally, showing the protrusion of the cristallin outside the pupil. Fig. vii. is a
section ofthe globe of the eye in the vertical direction, and showing the mutual encase-

FISHES. 337

subject, it has six muscles, of which the four right ones (Nos. 1, 2,
3, 4, fig. iii), arise from the bottom of the orbit near the circumference
of the optic foramen, and two oblique, (a 6,) arising from the an-
terior wall of the orbit, and are inserted transversly, the one above,
the other below, into the globe. The superior oblique is destitute of
the pully which changes the direction it has in quadrupeds. The
muscle which forms the siphon in quadrupeds is likewise wanted.

The fourth pair of nerves are inserted into the superior oblique,
and the sixth pair into the abductor ; the others receive their nerves
from the third pair precisely as in the vertebrated animals.

The intervals between the orbit, the globe, the muscles, nerves,
and vessels are furnished with a loose cellular tissue, filled with a
gelatinous fluid, adapted to afford facility to the movements of the
eye.

There are neither lacrymal gland, nor puncta lacrymalia in their
eyes, and in effect this apparatus is not necessary to animals whose
eyes are constantly moistened by the water in which they live.

In the rays and squalus the globe of the eye is borne upon a move-
able cartilaginous pedicle, attached to the bottom of the orbit between
the origin of the two rectus muscles ; an arrangement which gives
strength to its movements.

The anterior surface of the eye (<?, fig. VII) is generally level or
slightly convex, and the aqueous fluid is but little abundant ; the
remaining part of the surface of the globe is spheroidal, at least more
or less approaching to the figure of a sphere, but sometimes is rather
irregular. The rays have the upper portion flat so that the eye, in
this species, presents the general form of a quadrant of a sphere.

The eye of the anableps is very remarkable, it has two cornea;
which are separated by an opaque line, and two pupils perforated in
the same iris, so that they appear double ; but it has only one vitreous
humour, one crystalline, and one retina.*

The crystalline lens of fishes (c/. fig. VI, VII, VIII) is sensibly
spherical, very voluminous, and has a less space for the vitreous
humour than the eyes of animals which live in the air. Its consist-
ence is very great; its nucleus, which is very hard, remains trans-
parent even in spirits of wine, its external layers are numerous, and
are divided into fibres in the direction of the meridians of this small
globe : its capsule is soft ; it is attached in a hollow of the vitreous by
a circular line, produced by the membrane of the vitreous, which
surrounds it very nearly like the horizon of a geographic globe, (a)

ment of all the parts. In fine, fig. viii. is the globe cut across, and showing the
crystalline ligament.

1. If we take their direction with regard to the axis of the eye, or to its exterior
surface, they are frequently very oblique : this probably is what made Albers say that
the dorad (coryphoena) has two right muscles, and four oblique ; but I have followed
the nomenclature used in the human subject.

* See Lace"pede, Mem. de l'lnstitute, sc. math, et phys., t. 1 1, 179S», p. 372.

0^* (a) Dr. Brewster by some investigations lately undertaken, has shown that
the crystalline lenses in all animals are composed of fibres, and that if the lamina;
VOL. II. z

338 FISHES.

There is, moreover, in a great number of fishes a falciform liga-
ment (e, fig. VIII) which passes by a furrow of the retina and
penetrates into the vitreous, of which it is the only bond. This liga-
ment arises at the entrance of the optic nerve, and follows the interior
concavity, descending towards the base of the eye ; it contains the
vessels and ner/ves : its inferior point, nearest the uvea, is attached to
the capsule of the crystalline by its inferior surface, sometimes by
means of a simple prominence or a lamina a little more opaque ; some-
times, as is observed in the tunnies, by means of a species of gran-
ular body or transparent tubercle, and harder than thevitreous into
which it is inserted.* There are fishes, such as the salmon, and
herrings, in which this ligament is opaque and black,like the internal
surface of the ruyschian ligament.

In the chondrupterygians this ligament does not exist, neither does
it exist in many of the malacopterygians, especially the carps.

In the conger are perceived two very small ligaments, one placed
anteriorly and the other posteriorly, which support the crystalline as
by means of two poles.

There are four and even five tunics in the eyes of fishes. The most
external ( f, f), or the sclerotic, is thick, fibrous, supported in part,
in most species, by two cartilaginous pieces, inserted into its tissue,
and which have a space between them posteriorly ; they are more or
less ossified in large fishes, and even in certain species, for example in
the sword-fishes, they form for themselves a spherical envellope com-
pletely ossified, Avith the exception of the orifices for the entry of the
nerve and the encasement of the cornea.

In the chondropterygians the sclerotic is destitute of these pieces ;
it is uniformly cartilaginous ; in the rays and squalus, its cartilage
has posteriorly a prominence for articulation with the pedicle which
supports the globe. In common fishes its fibrous part frequently
assumes a thickness posteriorly, and forms a tuberosity.

The anterior opening of the sclerotic' forms a frame for the cornea,
which is there inserted into a circle frequently a little thicker. The
cornea is lamellated as in the other classes, and its internal lamina is
sometimes coloured with yellow or green, as is seen in the perch.

Under the sclerotic is first, in many fishes, a cellular tissue of a
greasy nature (g g, fig. iv.), of a greater or less extent, and which
sometimes forms a thick layer. It is wanted in the cod and in other
species, but it is very thick in the scioenas : in the perch it forms
different lobes in the circumference of the globe.

be removed the surfaces appear fibrous or grooved. The fibres are arranged in five
different modes, the same mode being found invariably in the same animal. In the
greater proportion of lenses of all animals the structure is symmetrical, in relation
to the anterior or posterior surfaces, or to the poles of the axis of vision. How-
ever there are some fishes which present a remarkable deviation from this law, by
having the anterior surfaces having their fibres arranged according to one mode,
whilst those of the posterior assume some other plan. The Doctor supposes that
this is intended as a means of correcting the aberration. — Eng. Ed.

* This is what Mr. Jurine names the cristalline ganglion. Only having seen it
in two eyes changed by the spirit of wine, he supposed it to be opaque.

FISHES. 339

More internally is a very thin membrane, almost without con-
sistence, which at first sight resembles only a silver or gold colour,
and which encloses all the n ore internal parts. It is this same layer
which is continued outside the iris, and which gives it that beautiful
metallic lustre which is generally so brilliant in the fishes.

The pupil of fishes has not generally the faculty of changing its
diameter ; but we must remark the singular truncated prolongation in
form of a palm which its superior border forms in the rays and
pleuixmectes, anrl which close the opening of the pupil, in the same
way as a window-blind.

The posterior surface of the iris or the uvea, is formed by another
membrane, which lines the whole interior of the eye, and of which
the internal surface is generally furnished with a coat or sort of
varnish more or less black. This membrane, which is very finely
vascular, may be divided into two lamina : the internal one, very
thin and simple, is a true ruyschian ; the external one, which is, pro
perly speaking, the vascular lamina, is rather thick ; this is the
choroid.

In large eyes the ruyschian sensibly forms, at the internal surface
of the uvea, at the part where are situated the ciliary processes
of mammifera, a circle of radiated and very fine folds ; but these
folds do not project, neither do they extend so far as the capsule
of the cristalline, so that they cannot be called true ciliary processes.
These folds, as well as the rest of the urea, immediately touch the
vitreous body, and strongly adhere to it; and the anterior convexity
of the cristalline frequently projects through the pupil in such a
manner, that the aqueous humour has no posterior chamber.

Between the choroid and the membrane of the metallic colour
which envelops it, is an apparatus proper only to fishes, and even to
osseous fishes, for it is not present in the chondropterygians. It is
a band or pad variously curved (h h, fig. v.), and forming an irregular
and incomplete ring, which surrounds for some distance the entrance
of the optic nerve. This pad is sometimes divided into two parts ;
at others it presents a large crossing, but it has always a solution of
continuity with its inferior part. It is always very red ; its tissue
presents blood vessels which are either transverse, densely compact,
or parallel with one another. It gives out other vessels, frequently
very tortuous always very much ramified, and which form 4 in the
thickness of the choroid, a compact net- work, Avhich Haller con-
sidered as a particular membrane.

The nature of this pad is not easy to determine. Some have
thought it muscular ; but the red stria?, which are seen in it, are vas-
cular, and not fibrous ; others have regarded it as glandular ; but it
appears to me to arise only from blood vessels. Perhaps it is an
erectible tissue, analogous to that of the carniverous bodies, and
which has some influence in accommodating the form of the eye to
the distances and density of the media.

The optic nerve (i i, fig. iii. to vii.), as we have said above, is com-
posed, in many fishes (at least amongst the acanthopterygians), of a
plaited membrane, enveloped in a tunic more or less strong, which
terminates at the sclerotic : it extends in a point of the eve sufficiently

"z2

340 FISHES.

remote from the centre, and most frequ«ntly penetrates it obliquely.
After having penetrated the sclerotic, it frequently makes a long
furrow through the greasy tissue and between the branches of the
vascular tissue, before penetrating the choroid and the ruyschian.
Its diameter shrinks considerably when it enters the ruyschian ; some-
times it appears at the interior of the eye as a white, and round or
irregular spot, and sometimes as a line. When the nerve is folded,
the retina itself has its internal lamina veiy much folded ; it lines,
moreover, as is common, all the interior concavity of the eye as far
as the origin of the uvea, and envelops also almost all the vitreous.
In those fishes which have a falciform ligament, it is cleft to allow it
to pass, but it very closely contracts, and its fissure is frequently
marked by two whitish lines which follow on this side the whole of
the concavity of the eye. The retina is easily divided into two
laminae, the internal of which is thinner and more fibrous, and the
external more pulpy.

From this general structure of the eye of fishes, the nearly com-
plete spheroidal character of its crystalline, the immobility of its pupil,
the difficulty there is in it of varying the length of its axis, we can
have no doubt that their faculty of seeing is very imperfect. Images
can be only confusedly painted upon their retina; and consequently
it is not probable that they are susceptible of distinct perceptions of
the forms of objects. It is nevertheless certain that they discover
their prey even at a great distance, and that they know it by seeing
it, since artificial flies deceive them, and cause them to bite the hook
as if they were real baits.

The Ear*.

The ear of fishes consists in some measure only of the labyrinth,
and moreover a labyrinth less complicated in many respects than
that of quadrupeds and birds.

* As far hack as 1600, and 1610, Casserius had examined many important parts
of the ear of fishes, and was better acquainted with it, than with the same organ in
man ; for his Pentesteseion, page 224, contains a tolerable drawing of the semi-
circular canals, and petrous bones of the pike.

In the Acta Medica of Copenhagen, for the year 1673, Stenow gives an abridged
description of the internal ear of the mustelus, which, though unaccompanied by a
drawing, is tolerably exact.

It may also be inferred from certain expressions of Swammerdain, (Bibb. Nat.,
vol. 1. p. iii.) that the labyrinth of fishes was not unknown to him. But his book
was not printed till after his death in 1 737.

It is also said that Duvernay was aware of it ; but his observations on this sub-
ject have never been published.

Bromel, Professor Upsal, has given a catalogue of the stones of the ear of fishes
which he had collected.

Klein, in his first Missus historic? pisrivm promorendee, printed in 1 740, speaks in
detail of those stones, and gives correct drawings of them, though not in situation
or in connexion with the labyrinth, in the pike, salmon, trout, ombre, marenje, her-
ring, cod, dorsch, lote, sandre, perch, the acerina, the gasterosteus, the turbot,
plaice, barbel, and several other eyprins, &C., but entirely independent of their
position and their connexion with the labyrinth.

In 1753 Etienne Louis Geoffroy, a Physician of Paris, presented to the Academy
a memoir ex professo, on the ear of fishes which was not printed till 1 778. It con-

FISHES. 34J

They have no external ear, at least, unless this name can be given
to a little cavity, sometimes slightly turned into a spiral form which
is anterior to the species of fenestra ovalis in the ray; a cavity entirely
hidden under the skin. Bony fishes have neither this cavity, nor
even any fenestra ovalis: some amongst them, as the lepidoleprus
and certain mormyri, have only at the cranium openings stopped by
the skin, by which the vibrations of the ambient liquid maybe imme-
diately conducted to the labyrinth. In others, such as the myri-
pristes, the cranium is opened below, and its orifice is closed by a
membranous septum to which the air bladder adheres; but these com-
munications are very different from that which takes place through
the medium of the tympanum, and still more that which takes place in
the eustachian tube.

The fishes are in fact deficient of the tympanum and its small bones,
as also of the eustachian tube. Those who are anxious to discover,
in the bones of the operculum, the four small bones of the human ear
suddenly and prodigiously developed, could never have entertained
such an idea, except in conformity with the very dangerous system
which represents that the osseous pieces ought to be found in the same
number in every head, and indeed they can offer no other reason in
its favour : neither the form, relations, nor functions of these bones,
nor the muscles which are attached to it, nor the nerves which go it
can be forced into the comparison ; but this identity in the number of
pieces admits of so many exceptions that it cannot serve consistently

tains a good description of the ear, in the eel, whiting, pike, carp, cyprin, plaice, and
perch ; he mistook, however, for a meatus externus, certain foramina of the cranium,
which do not appear to have that destination. The figures originally annexed to the
memoir having been lost, there are none given in the publication. What he says of
the ray, is comprised in a memoir on the ear of reptiles presented in 1752, and pub-
lished in 1755.

Pierre Camper's investigations were made in 1761; they first appeared in the
Harlem memoirs in 1762. He addressed them in an amplified form to the Academy
of Sciences in 1767 ; these were published in vol. vii. of the learned foreigners, in
1774. In these he describes especially the ear of the ray, cod, pike, baudroie, with
figures in his own, vague style. He added little to what Geoffroy had said before
him, except that he denied in too general a manner, the existence of the exterior
canal, and that he spoke of an organ which he called the tensor bursiE, and which
appears to be no more than an appendice, or rather a ligament stronger in the pike
than in many other fishes.

In 1773, K?elreuter has given, in the seventeenth volume of the Novi Commen-
tarii of Petersburgh, a description with figures of great accuracy and detail of the ear,
of two sorts of sturgeon, the common one, and the huzo.

M. Monro states that he had not paid any attention to the ear of fishes till he had
heard of the observations of Camper ; but his information had reached him but
tardilly, for he had not heard of them till 1779. His own observations appeared in
his Anatomy of fishes 1785, accompanied by beautiful plates. He has described
better than either his predecessors, or successors, the external ear of the chondrop-
terygians; it is remarkably well seen in his collection of three treatises on the brain,
eye, and ear, published in Edinburgh in 1792.

John Hunter asserts that he had discovered the internal ear of fishes as far back
as 17S6 ; but he did not publish his remarks, and then only as an extract, till 1786,
in his observations on certain parts of the animal economy. He acknowledges that
Geoffroy had preceded him on the ray.

But the most exact description and finest drawings of the ear of fishes are due to
Mi Scarpa, in his Disquisilivnes de uudilu el olfactv, printed at Pavia in 1789. He

342 FISHES.

with strict logic to prove another proposition, being itself in a state of
doubt.

With respect to those who have thought that they beheld in the
vast and quintuple communication of the branchiae with the mouth, a
development of the eustachian tube, they have not even sought to sup-
port their system or any sort of resemblance in the number and struc-
ture of the parts.

There would have been something plausible to alledge in favour
of M. Weber's idea; for it went to show the analogues of the bones
of the ear in the osseous species which are placed at the side of
the first vertebrae, and which support the air bladder in the cyprins
and silures. Indisputably these osseous pieces as we have seen else-
where, have a direct communication with the labyrinth; but this con-
nection is not at all like that of the little bones of the ear in the
higher animals ; and though it were demonstrated that they partici-
pate in the functions of the organ of hearing, still they do not the less
remain, as M. Geoffrey has proved, simple dismemberments of .the
transverse apophyses of the first vertebrae.

Analogy does not render it otherwise likely that we should have
bones necessarily in the fishes, since we see these bones degenerating
in number and volume, from the quadrupeds even down to the sala-
manders, and the sirena, where they are reduced to a single small
plate which represents the last half of the stapes.

there gives a drawing from nature of the ear in the ray, baudroie, and pike. He
erroneously denies the external communication, discovered by Munro, in the ray.

In the same year 17S9, M. Comparetti published at Padua, his observations on
the internal ear, in which he carefully describes, and represents accurately, though
not elegantly those of the ray, of the angel fish, sphinax, mustelus, the sturgeon, of
the tunny, the eel, the plaice, the pike, the denzelle, the carp, and gudgeon.

It is from the researches of these authors, and those which I myself have made
that I have described the ear of fishes in my Comparative Anatomy. I have added
some facts relative to the sturgeon, the moon-fish, to the distribution of the
nerves, &c, and I should not suppose that this description, in as much as it is a
general one would require to undergo any modification.

But in a latin work, printed at Leipsic in 1820, on the ear of man and animals, M.
Em. Henri Weber has given interesting details on this department of fishes, with very
clear descriptions, and with very fine and very faithful figures ; he has there offered an
entirely new hypothesis respecting the small bones which adhere to the first vertebrae
of the spine in the cyprins, silures, and cobites, which have been regarded to the
present time as exclusively appropriated to the swimming bladder, but which M.
Weber has shown to bear some relation to the ear of fishes. This leads him to
believe that they represent the small bones of the tympanum in man and the higher
animals, and not only these bones but the swimming bladder itself are amongst the
organs which are subsidiary to the ear. This opinion has been supported by M.
Bojaneus, in the Isis of 1818.

M. Geoffroy has contended against it, at least in one sense, for he has made it
manifest that these small bones are more dismemberments of the first vertebras than
true bones of the ear, which he still continues to believe to be represented by the
opercular pieces. Since then I have discovered relations between the ear and the
natatory bladder of fishes, the existence of which had not been before suspected, and
in the myripristis.

Lastly, there are some curious observations of M. M. Otto and Heusinger on
the apertures of the cranium in the lepidoleprus and the mormyr, through which
something of the vibrations of the ambiant element may be transmitted to the inter-
nal ear.

FISHES. 343

The membranous labyrinth in the rays is entirely enclosed in a
larger osseous labyrinth, hollowed on the sides behind the cranium,
in the inner part of which it is supported by vessels and cellular mem-
brane, and it adheres by a sort of ligament to a portion of the supe-
rior surface of the cranium Avhich is pierced by a small foramen, and
closed by a membrane. On this membrane is a small membranaceous
excavation covered by the skin ; this is the whole of the communi-
cation of the labyrinth with the outside, and it has no communication
with the inside of the cranium except by foramina, which serves for
the transmission of the nerves.

The sturgeon and the moon-fish have only their semicircular
canals enveloped in the canals which are traced in the cartilage of the
cranium, but the remainder of their labyrinth is in the cranium itself.
In these [fishes there is also something which approximates them
to the pikes.

In a very great number of the osseous fishes, the whole of the
membranous labyrinth is suspended in the cavity of the cranium
which is merely a lateral depression of the large cavity in which the
brain is placed. Of the vestiges of the osseous labyrinth some osseous
or membranous traces remain, and around them turn the semicir-
cular canals; there is also near them a cavity more or less deep, formed
in the base of the cranium above the basilar bone, where the sac is
merged, of which we shall presently speak.

We should, however, remark a principal ligament which sus-
pends the two vertical semicircular canals to the arch of the
cranium, near the posterior border of the parietal, and which has a
close resemblance to that which communicates with the fenestra
ovalis in the ray.

The oily or mucilaginous liquor which usually envelopes the
brain, penetrates also into the cavities, and surrounds the membra-
nous labyrinth.

The semi-circular membranous canals, three in number each
swelled to an ampulla, which receives the filaments of the acoustic
nerve, differs from those of the superior classes only in their greater
extent. One of them is situated inferiorly, it is nearly horizontal,
having a direction towards the side of the brain, and two almost
vertical, one anterior, the other posterior. These two are united by
one of their extremities, so that all three together terminate by five
orifices only in the common cavity which represents the membranous
vestibule.

The form of this cavity varies greatly ; sometimes it represents a
long canal, sometimes an oval sac, or triangular pyramid, &c. That
which is called the sac is an appendix of the vestibule, from which it
is distinguished by a constriction. This constriction is said to be so
impervious, that injections will not pass from one cavity to the
other; but this is not the case, at least, in the chondropterygians.
The membrane which forms the vestibule and the sac, appears
uniform, and is much thinner and finer than that of the semi-circular
canals. The sac is in general under, and most frequently behind the
vertibule ; it is lodged in a concavity of the floor of the cranium, and
sometimes, this concavity is so closed by an osseous lamina, as only

344 FISHES.

to leave an orifice for the constricted part which connects the sac
with the vestibule.

The liquor which fills the entire labyrinth, is slightly gelatinous
and perfectly transparent ; the sac and vestibule are swelled with this
fluid; they contain besides bodies of a peculiar nature, of the consist-
ence of starch in the chondropterygians, and of a purely stony nature
in the other osseous fishes.

In the latter there is generally one of these bodies in the vestibule,
and two in the sac, a large and a small one, the latter are separated
from each other by a membranous septum.

These stony concretions, and masses of amylaceous consistence,
are entirely calcareous, and are dissolved by acids with a brisk effer-
vescence. Nothing can be discovered in them resembling the organi-
zation of bones ; they are more like shells.

Their form is A r ery determinate, and often very singular, and per-
fectly invariable in each species, indeed so much so, that bony fishes
may be distinguished by their ear stones, almost as easily as by any
other character : for instance, in the cod, they are elliptical,
notched on the edges, and raised in the middle ; in the scienas they
are oval, very thick, tubercular in some places, and marked by a
curved furrow, running along its surface, &c. (a,)

The acoustic nerve is given off from the brain, nearly opposite the
junction of the sac with the vestibule ; superiorly it gives a twig to
each of the semi-circular canals; this twig enters the ampulla of the
canal to which it belongs and is there expanded. Another portion
of the nerve goes to the vestibule: but the most considerable part of
it expands into an infinity of filaments, which form a beautiful
apparatus under the wall of the sac containing the large stone.

The disposition of the semi-circular canals in the rays and squalus
differs, in some respects, from that which is found in osseous fishes ;
in the former, they terminate at the vestibule in the form of a tube,
the superior extremity of which adheres to the fenestra ovalis :
his vestibule, after receiving the semi-circular canals, terminates in
a large oval sac, which has itself two appendices, an anterior and
posterior. It can scarcely be doubted, that this appendix represents
the small cavity, the only vestige of a cochlea which remains in
reptiles, and the rather as in reptiles it likewise contains a small mass
resembling starch.

This conclusion ought probably to be extended to the sac in
osseous fishes, notwithstanding its backward position, the more so,
as it is frequently, and perhaps always, divided into tAVO cavities by a
membranous septum.

The ears as we have now described them, it will be observed, are
much less perfect than the ears of quadrupeds, birds, or even those of
most reptiles. Destitute of the tympanum, the small bones and the
eustachian tube, they can scarcely receive the impression of the vibra-
tions of the ambient element, unless they are communicated to the
cranium, and besides, as the bones do not press closely on the mem-

* Klein's treatise on these stones maybe consulted; it might have been con-
siderably augmented.

FISHES. 345

branous labyrinth, the cranium cannot transmit its oscillations to the
labyrinth, but in a feeble degree. The absence of a true cochlea and
its fibrous lamina, will not allow us to believe that the ear of fishes
can be affected by the difference of tones. It simply offers to the
physiologist, a very sensitive membranous apparatus, in which the
nervous filaments distributed in the ampulla? of the semi-circnlar
canals, must participate in all the movements of the fluid in which it
is plunged, and in which, those that are attached to the sacs and ves-
tibule must be still more vividly agitated, by the shocks communicated
by these movements to the stones contained in these cavities.

It is therefore probable that fishes hear; that noise produces in
them a strong sensation, but that they cannot distinguish either the
infinite variety of tones, or those articulate sounds, with which quad-
rupeds, and birds appear to be so vividly struck. All that we learn
from experience, as to the degree in which fishes enjoy the faculty of
hearing, is shewn in their being easily frightened by sudden and
unusual noises ; in the necessity which fishermen feel of observing
profound silence, in order not to put them to flight; and in their
habituating themselves to be called to receive food, and know the
sounds employed for that purpose.

We have seen elsewhere, that the Romans had trained them to
know their own names; but we are not aware, that the moderns have
carried their education to the same extent.

As to the special apparatuses, which are only found in certain ge-
nera, such as the silures, cyprius, cobites, and lepidolepruses, which
have been looked upon as substitutes or analogies, for the tympanum,
and small bones of the ear in mammalia, since these are only excep-
tionable organs, which are far from belonging to the entire class, we
shall refer their description to the chapter on the genera which are
provided with such organs.

Nostrils.

The nostrils of fishes are not so disposed, as to be passed over by
the air or water during respiration. They consist of two fossa? hol-
lowed out towards the front of the snout, and lined with a pituitary
membrane, which forms very regular folds. In ordinary fishes, the
bone, which we regard as the nasal, covers them like a vault, and the
vomer, the maxillary, and intermaxillary contribute to support their
walls ; the first suborbitary forms their inferior border. Their form
is sometimes oblong, and sometimes oval or round, They are placed
either at the end of the snout or on the sides, sometimes on its superior
surface, and in the ray, andsqualus, even on its inferior surface, near
the corners of the mouth. In the lamprey they are situated close
together on the top of the head, and open by a small common aper-
ture. In the majority of fishes, perhaps in all the osseous, they open
each by two orifices, one before and one behind, and sometimes at
some distance from each other ; this is called the double nostrils, a
denomination which is evidently improper, as they communicate only
with one cavity.

The edges of the anterior orifice are often tubular as in the eel ;

346 FISHES.

and sometimes the tubular character of the edge is continued as in the
lotus, and in several of the silures, on one of its sides, into a tentaculum
(feeler) of greater or less size. At other times these edges do not
exist, as we see in the sombres, in which, moreover, the posterior orifice
is a vertical line.

The nostrils of lophius, by a remarkable singularity, are supported
like mushrooms, each on a small stalk ; the head of this sort of mush-
room contains the cavity of the nostril, which opens in the usual way,
by two small orifices,

In some, the posterior opening is under the lip ; this is the case in
some foreign congers, a coincidence sufficiently remarkable with what
occurs in the sirens and proteus.

In the species in which the fossa is round the folds of the pitui-
tary membrane which line it, are disposed like radii of a circle round a
centre or short line* ; but in those in which the fossa is oblong or elonga-
ted, they are ranged on each side of an axis, forming very regular combs,
or rather representing the feathers of a quill. Their number and the
amount of their prominency vary much ; they can scarcely be seen in
the lump-fish : in the perch, for example, they are only sixteen in
each nostril ; in the turbot twenty-four ; in the conger or eel, they
are almost innumerable, on each side of a salient axis, which runs
along the entire length of the internal surface of the tube of the nostril.
The rays themselves are subdivided into small branches in the stur-
geon, and perhaps even in other species ; in a word, the surface of
this membrane is multiplied in various ways.

This surface is furnished with numerous fine vessels, secreting an
abundant mucus with which their intei'vals are filled.

The olfactory nerve, coming out from the anterior tubercles of the
brain, sometimes single, sometimes double, sometimes divided into
filaments, varying in length and size, according to the species, goes to
the posterior or convex surface of the nostril. It varies a good deal as
to its course, and as to the manner in which it arrives at its destination.
In certain fishes, such as the tetrodon, it is very slender ; in others,
as the cod, it is slender, but double or triple. In the ray and squalus,
it is thick and single, and sometimes so much, so as to seem but an
appendix of the brain ; in the tunny it is simple, also, throughout its
entire length. In the perch, it is divided into two in its middle, and its
filaments are multiplied in the neighbourhood of the nostril. In the
turbot and in lophius, it is divided from its origin near the brain, into
several filaments. In the conger and eel, it is divided almost from
its origin into two large trunks, which give each successively a great
number of branches, subdivided into smaller ramifications for all the
lamellae of their long nostril.

In several genera, the olfactory nerve, as we have said, when it
arrives at the nasal fossa, swells to the size of a ganglion ; this we see
in the cod, carp, and in the cypiins generally.

* The olfactory nerves, and the nostrils of the perch detached from the bones,
are shown pi. VII. fig. 2. One of the nostrils is entire and opened, to show the
rays : the other is cut in the middle to shew the distribution of the nerve to the
membrane.

FISHES. 347

It has been observed that this inflation occurs usually in those fishes
in which the nerve is not swelled at its base ; and in which, conse-
quently, there is no supernumerary pair of tubercles in front of the
anterior lobes of the brain.

Nevertheless, it is swelled very evidently in the rays, although these
tubercles are wanting.

The filaments of the olfactory nerve penetrate regularly into all the
folds of the pituitary membrane, and terminate at their edges.

We do not perceive, in osseous fishes at least, that the covering of
the nostrils enjoys any mobility, or that the orifices are furnished with
muscles to open or shut them.

It is certain that fishes enjoy the faculty of smelling ; that odours
attract or repel them ; and there is no reason to doubt that the seat of
this faculty is the organ now described.

However, it is by no means impossible, that this delicate membrane
may also be used in recognizing substances mixed with or dissolved
in water, and which of themselves would possess no odour, thus
directing the fish in the selection of the waters which would be more
or less suited for it.

It may be safely conjectured, that the degree of the faculties with
which this membrane is endowed, depends on the developement
given to it by the number and extent of its folds.

Organs of Taste.

Fishes, with few exceptions, swallow their food I'apidly, and without
chewing ; even those whose jaws are armed in such a manner, as to
bruise and cut their aliments, cannot keep them long in the mouth,
on account of the position and action of their respiratory organs ;
there being no salivary glands to moisten them, they could taste them
but feebly, even supposing they had received organs enabling them to
discern keenly the differences of the flavour; but it appears that the
organs of taste themselves are rather feeble.

There are some fishes, in which the floor of the mouth, has no pro-
minence meriting the name of a tongue : in most, the tongue is
short, and but slightly detached ; it is never supplied with particular
muscles for giving a motion of prolongation, or flexion, which it has
in quadrupeds ; but even when it is most distinct, and most fleshy in
appearance, it merely consists of a cellular or ligamentous substance,
applied to the front of the lingual bones ; lastly, its surface is often
armed with toeth, sometimes densely packed together, like paving
stones, and which must necessarily deprive it of whatever little sensi-
bility it might have had, without them.

Its nervous supply is very scanty, and comes from the glossophar-
yngeal, after it has expended almost its entire substance on the first
branchia.

It might be supposed that some portions of the palate, or pharynx,
supply the place of the tongue for this kind of sensation, and especi
ally as we find in the genus of cyprins, at the entrance of the throat*
the vault of the palate furnished with a fleshy, soft, thick substance,

348 FISHES.

which receives many nerves from the eighth pair, and which, as it
seems nearly to correspond to the pharyngean teeth, so powerful in
animals, appears to have all the dispositions calculated to make them
relish the food ; but it would be very difficult indeed to determine the
reality of this conjecture.

This organ is very remarkable for a peculiar kind of irritability ; if
we touch or prick it, the point pricked swells up, and assumes for a
few moments, the form of a cone ; this irritation may be repeated on
every point of the organ, and always with the same effect as long as
life remains in it, and Ave know that life subsists a long time in the
carp, even after the head has been cut off.

This phenomenon might be made the object of interesting physio-
logical experiments.

Organs of Touch.

Fishes are not much more highly favoured in regard of touch,
than they are with respect to the organ of taste ; being destitute of
prolonged members, and particularly of flexible fingers, calculated to
grasp objects, it is only by their lips, that they can ascertain the forms
of bodies : the appendices called cirri, such as many of them, as the
silures, several cods and cyprins, have round the mouth; the filaments
or rays detached from the pectoral fin, which have been called fingers
in the mullets and polynemes ; the other moveable rays, with which
the head of baudroies is provided, and which are detached from the
first dorsal fin, serve rather to enable them to perceive the approach
of foreign bodies, than to rocognize their forms and other tangible
qualities ; however in the limits to which they are restricted, these
organs possess great sensibility, and receive nerves of considerable
size.

The general covering of the body of fishes, at least in those in
which that part is covered with scales, cannot have any high degree
of sensibility ; but in this respect the varieties are almost infinite, from
the species, which like the lamprey seem to have nothing resembling
scales, or those which like the eel, have them small and thin, and as it
were, lost in a thick epidermis, to those in which the scales form
osseous bucklers, as in the sturgeon, or constitute by their union an
inflexible cuirass, as in the coffres.

The scales are productions of the same nature as the nails or horns,
but most commonly of a more calcarious substance, with which the
skin of fishes is furnished.

The chemical composition of scales, has a great analogy with that
of the bones and teeth. M. Chevreul analyzed the scales of a lepisos-
teus, a chcetodon, and a bar, and obtained the following results, after
having evaporated the water by exposing them for six weeks, in a dry

vafimm*

* By drying, the lepisostic had lost 11,75 per cent., the chcetodon 13, the
bar 16.

FISHES.

349

SCALES

of the

of the

of the

Lepisosteus.

Perca labrax.

Chcetodon.

0,40

0,40

1,00

41,10

55,00

51,42

traces

traces

00,10

00,90

1,00

00,00

0,00

10,00

3,06

3,68

46,20

37,80

42,00

2,20

0,90

0,90

traces

traces

traces

0,00

2,84

0,00

100,00

100,00

100,00

Fatty matter formed chiefly of oleine

Azotic matter

Chloruret of sodium

Subcarbonate of soda

Sulphate of soda

Subcarbonate of lime

Phosphate of lime (of bones)

Phosphate of magnesia

Peroxide of iron

Loss

In a considerable number of genera, the scales are imbricated : that
is to say, they partially cover each other like tiles ; their external and
apparent part is merely covered by a lamina of the dermis, which very
speedily dries ; their concealed part, is buried in a cavity, or purse
hollowed out of the dermis or formed by one of its folds ;* this con-
cealed part of the shell, has usually a different surface. AVe perceive
on it, very fine strite parallel with its edge, and rays spreading like a
fan from the centre towards the edge, which is most frequently cut
into lobes and indentations. The uncovered part presents more
variety ; it is sometimes smooth, sometimes pointed, sometimes
covered with little asperities, or cilise. The scale thus enchased
in the dermis, does not adhere to it by vessels.f but it would appear
that it grew like the shell in the mantle of a mollusca,or as a tooth in
its germ and its matrix, and the varities of the surface of the scales,
their furrows, their dimples, their crests, the spines of which are
armed or bristled, the lashes or small notches of their edge, and
which give, when viewed through the microscope a very agreeable
sight,! d° not sul 'P ass what is seen in shells, and in these nobody
doubts that the growth is by layers.

* It might be thought at first sight, that this disposition was very different from
that which obtains in a great number of lizards and serpents, in which what is called
scales, is merely a production of the dermis, covered by the epidermis, which assumes
at its external surface more thickness and consistence ; but the sauriaris conduct us to
the tiled scales of fishes : the folds of their skin are occupied by a calcarious secre-
tion, which forms a true scale plainly separable from the substance of the derm
which envelopes it. Let is suppose this substance of the derm thinner and finer,
and we shall have the scales of fishes, which seemed to be enshrined in a fossa of this
dermis.

•f- Leuwenhoek was the first to assert that the scales grew by layers which were
successively larger, and which were formed under the preceeding ones. (See his
works, page 205 ; his physiological epistles 214.) But^he erroneously believed that
the years of the age of the fish could be distinguished by the layers in the scales.

X The figures maybe seen in Baster (opera subseciva I, III, pi. 15) and in some
plates of Amusements microscopiques of Ledermuller. Schcefer gives also figures of
the scales in Pise, Bavar and Pentas, and some are also to be seen in other Ichthy-
ologists. I do not find that Broussonnet in his Memoire, inserted in the Journal de
Physique, t. XXXI, p. 12, has added much to the reports of his predecessors.

350 FISHES.

There are some very thick, of quite a stony nature, which are but
slightly imbricated, hut very compact, and form for the fish a true
cuirass, such are those of the lepisosteus, the Lirchir, &c.

In certain fishes, as the eel, the scales are not at all imbricated, and
have all their parts equally incrusted under an epidermis rather thick;
nevertheless they are sufficiently approximated.

In others, such as the turbot, and cyclopterus, there are scales simi-
lar to cones or tubercles more or less bristly, which adhere to the
skin by their large base, and between which are naked intervals.

Similar scales, but reduced to very small points, cover the bodies of
the greater part of the tetrodons, In the diodons these points become
long thorns, whose base widens to support them as tripods.

The grains which make the skin of the scyllyum and the majority of
chondropterygians very rough, are also species of scales, and when
they take the form of soft tubercles, which touch each other and which
may be polished, they give it what is called the galuchat, an armour
which belongs to the species of stingrays. There are some whose form
and size make a complete buckler, such as are those of the sturgeon.
Those scales which are mostly developed, and which best shew their
analogous nature to that of teeth, are those to which the name ray
buckles has been given. Their base, which is oval and puffed, is
hollow in the interior, and in them it penetrates the vessels which
nourish a pulpy nucleus very similar to that of a tooth.

The cuirass of the ostracions is only formed of a collection of large
scales or plates, whose edges arc in contact, and thus become neces
sarily angular.

V It is the dermis which secretes beneath the scales the matter of a
metallic silvery colour, which causes the brilliancy in fishes; it is
composed of small polished lamina, like burnished silver, which are
removed by washing either from the skin or from the scales, the under
surface of which they varnish. It is well known that it is this
matter with which false pearls are coloured. It is also secreted, in
many fishes, in the thickness of the peritonceum and the coats, fur-
nished to certain viscera, particularly to the natatory bladder*.

The scales are not equally spread, neither are they of similar form
or consistence over the whole body. Frequently the head is deprived
of them, and is only defended by the wrinkles and roughnesses of its
bones, covered with a skin very thin and very closely adherent; but
it also happens that they may have, according to their genera, scales
upon the cheek, on the opercular pieces on the cranium, and even on
the snout and jaws, and, lastly, on the branchiostegal membrane
itself. The scales extend also more or less, on the fins, and even in
the squammipennes. The dorsal and anal fins are covered in almost
the same manner as the rest of the body.

The scales of the lateral line are distinguished from others by one
or more small tubes with which they are bored, and frequently by
other peculiarities. In the caranx, for example, they rise in ridges
on both sides of the tail.

* See a Memoire of M. Reaumur upon this silvery matter, among3t the me-
moirs of the Academie des Sciences for 1816, p. 229.

FISHES.

351

It also happens that the scales of the inferior border of the belly being
compressed, trenchant, and united together, present a species of
external sternum, something in the form of a saw. This is seen in
the herrings, and the serra-salmons.

The kind of integuments furnished by the scales being Avell
adapted to facilitate natation by their smooth surface, and the little
resistance they present to the liquid, and also to preserve the fishes
from the clashings and friction to which they are exposed amongst
the rocks which stick out from the depths of the sea, is but a slight
garantee against the impression of the variations of temperature ; but
the heat of fishes not exceeding that of the element by which they
are surrounded, they have a less dread of cold than birds and qua-
drupeds ; it is for the same reason that reptiles are only covered with
scales or a naked skin.

Subsequently added in a Supplement by the Author.

Fig. VI. of the pi. vii. shows the silvered membrane, /., raised on
a part of the globe of the eye, to allow the choroid to be seen, k, and
the vascular pad.

Fig. VII. shows at c. the external lamina of the cornea, which is
a prolongation of the skin ; I. is the iris lined above by the silvered
membrane, and by the uvea below ; m. the choroid ; n. the rating ;
o. the vitreous body. a. the semicircular horizontal canal; b. the
anteaior vertical ; c. the posterior vertical ; d. the ampullae ; e. the
membranous vestibule ; /. the sac ; g. the union of the two semi-cir-
cular vertical canals ; s. the varions branches of the seventh pair,
which proceed to'the ampulla and the sac.

No. x. of plate viii. shows the four scales of the perch : a and b are
the large scales of the sides; c, a scale of the laternal line perforated
by a tube, and d, a scale of the back.

Figure 2 of plate viii. and of figure 1 of plate vii. show in R the
natatory bladder. In the first it is in its right situation ; it is per-
ceived between the sides : in the second it has been, like all the
intestines, lowered, in order to show the kidneys, SS, and the urinary
bladder, T. Its sides are covered anteriorly with clusters of red
pencilled lines, and vessels which form them, and posteriorly by
the arteries which it receives from the deep-seated branches of the
intercostals and veins which unite with those of the ovary.

It may likewise be added for the knowledge of figure 1 of plate vii.,
that in the orbit are seen the ophthalmic nerve, 5-i the nerves of the
third pair, those of the fourth and sixth pairs ; that likewise is seen
the superior maxillary, 5-2, the inferior maxillary, 5-3, the opercular
nerve, 5-5, the nerves of the eight pair in 8, the last branch of which
is supported on the stomach in 8-i : 9, 10, 11, and 12 are pairs of
nerves which go to the shoulder, arm. and pectoral fin : those of
the ventral fin are supplied by the branches of the intercostal : 13, 14,
15, in x, x-i, x-2,are the apertures of the anus, ovaries, ; nd bladder,
situated, as is seen, in fishes in an inverse position to that of other
vertebrae.

It may be added that the figure 4 represent the testicles R, li, and
the bladder, Q ; that figure 9 shows an ovary cleft longitudinally to

352 FISHES.

show the numerous membranous lamina of which it is composed,
and which are lined at each of their surfaces with a number of eggs
so considerable, that when they have acquired their natural develope-
ment, they entirely hide the membrane to which they adhere.

CHAPTER VII.

Organs of Nutrition of Fishes.*

The vegetative functions of fishes follow the same order as those of
the other vertebrated animals ; they seize and divide their aliment
with the teeth ; they make it undergo a first digestion in the stomach;
passing from that organ into the intestinal eanal, the food receives
the bile which is poured out by the liver, and in some fishes there is an
addition of a liquor which is analogous to the pancreatic Becretion ;

the nutritive juices which are absorbed by means of vessels which

represent our Lacteals, and perhaps are partly taken up by the veins,
are blended with venous blood ; this is carried to the heart, and from
the heart to the gills where the contact of the surrounding air eon-
verts it into arterial blood ; the latter then returns to nourish the whole
of the body ; but the blood must also be carried out of the body in
various ways, and this is effected bv perspiration, by the various
liquids that ooze from the skin and the kidneys, which produce
mine.

VVe shall in this chapter describe the organs of manducation. of
digestion, of circulation, of respiration, and then the excretions.

Fishes in general are characterised by voracity ; we see them in-
cessantly pursuing and devouring each other, or bolting small animals

found within their reach; their ability, however, in this respect, will
depend, it is obvious, on the opening of their mouth and the power
of their teeth ; if the teeth be sharp and Crookened, they are then
able to retain the most agile animals; if the teeth are large and
Strong, then can they grind down the hardest prey; but when the fish
is furnished only with weak teeth, or utterly destitute of them, be is
reduced to live on food which nimol oiler the least resistance.

* The splanchnology and angeiology of the perch are repri ented in plates vii. and
viii. Figure i, pi. viii. represents a perch opened, bowing the heart and abdominal
organs, with the omenta in their natural situation. Figure ii, pi. viii. shows tin-
same organs and the gills in their proper situation, and are seen on t lie Iril Ide,

after raising the opercula, the bones of the shoulder, I in- muscles, and the peritonaeum
of that side: this figure was taken from a female whose overy was quite full. The
large figure of plate vii. represents a perch In which all the muscles and the perito-
naeum of one side are removed, and In which the opercular pieces and the other
Lateral apparatuses of the bead and shoulder are detached and turned down ; this
shows the branchia quite naked, also the heart and the sinuses of the veins, with
arteries which pass from the gillst the arteries, and veins of the trunk, and all the

abdominal Viscera, With their arteries and veins; a great portion Of the cerebral
nerves, anil the first nerves of the spine an hi.v.n alBO, aeeordine- to their di-trilui-
t miii ; the jest of those of 1 1n plni hfi been witheld, least the figure uoilld he Con-
fused by a complication. This figure was taken from e female in which the overy

was Very Slightly developed. Figure Hi, pi. viii. fives the Intestinal canal and the

liver, which are leparated In such a way, a- to display the distribution of the vena

porta- and the gall bladder.

pishes. 353

Fishes are not at all dainty in the selection of their food, and their
powers of digestion are adequate to the solution of every thing that
is endowed with life. They swallow other fishes, indifferent to the
dangers arising from their spines and crests; crabs and shells have no
terrors for them, and remains of this strange food have been found
in the intestines of these fishes. They reject, however, all such
indigestible matters, as birds of prey reject the feathers and bones
of small birds which they have swallowed.

The species that live, principally, on vegetable food, constitute a very
small proportion of the whole community; they are found particu-
larly in the genus sniaris. and in some other species which may be
regarded as dismembered portions of this genus.

We should conclude, that digestion is a very expeditious process in
fishes, and their growth depends, to a great extent, on the abundant
supply of nourishment ; they increase in si/e less rapidly in the
smaller iisb ponds, where they are too numerous, than in the vast
lakes, where they find the necessary food.

The growth of fishes which attain longevity may exceed very con-
siderably the ordinary limits of size ; but, with the exception of some
species brought lip by man, we know very little about the natural
duration of a fish's life, and hence it may be upon a conjecture very
doubtful in its foundation, that the persuasion exists, that the life of
a fish may he preserved for ever. The reason given for this opinion,
which is, that the bones of fishes do not harden as much as the bones
of warm blooded animals, at all events is not applicable to the greater
part of fishes.

Manducation and the teeth in particular.

We have already explained in the the third chapter of the Osteology,
the composition of the jaws of fishes, anil the mode in which they per
form, in concert with the hyoid apparatus and the gills, the motions
required in order to enable them to seize their food and to swallow it.

We have now to speak of their teeth, by means of which their food
is generally seizi'd and transferred to the pharynx, or in rarer cases,
where this food is actually carved ami ground down according to
various methods.

Fishes may have teeth adherent to all the hones which envelope
the cavity of the mouth and pharynx : they have them to the inter-
maxillaries, to the maxillaries, to the palatines, to the vomer, to the
tongue, to the branchial arches, and to the pharyngeal! bones, and
there are some genera which have teeth in all these hones, either

all uniform, or different to each other; hut some or many of these

bones may want teeth, and there exist fish which are altogether
deprived of them.

The perch for example*, has teeth dense as the pile of velvet

to its intermaxillaries, (No. 17); to its dentaries, (No. 34); to a
transverse band in the form of a crescent under the anterior extremity
of its vomer, (No. l(i), to a longitudinal hand in each palatine. (No.
22), which is even continued a short distance along the holder of the

• See pi. II and ill.

A A

354 FISHES.

external pterygoid in (No. 24). It has them also at its superior
(Nos. 61, 62), and inferior (No. 56), pharyngeans,and at all the tube-
rosities of its branchial arches ; but they are absent on the tongue.

We describe the teeth in reference to their position, according to
the bones to which they are attached. Thus we make a distinction
between the intermaxillary teeth, maxillary, mandibulary, vomerian,
palatine, pterygoidean, lingual, branchial, and the superior and infe-
rior pharyngeans.

Their forms are not less varied than their position, and give, rise
to epithets still more numerous; most frequently they represent cones,
or hooks, more or less sharp ; when these hooks are numerous and
disposed in several ranges or in the form of a quincunx, they are com-
pared to the points which are presented by cards for carding wool
or cotton ; frequently they are so thin and so dense, as to appear to the
eye like the pile of velvet, and when they are at the same time very
short, and also very dense, they then have the appearance of smooth
velvet, but when they are elongated and weak, they form brushes or
species of hairs. In short, these little delicate teeth may be at the
same time so short, that they are reduced to a simple asperity more
capable of being detected by the touch than by the eye. It will not
be difficult for any person to comprehend the terms which we employ
to describe these various shades of difference. Independently how-
ever of these teeth in hooks, there exist also trenchant ones in the
form of a wedge, as the anterior ones of the genus sargus and the
pharyngeans of the genus scarus. The trenchant maybe dentated as
in the genus acanthurus, or they may be sharply jjointed in its middle, as
in the serra-salmons. There are also round, or hemispherical, or
oval, as the posterior teeth in sparrows; these round teeth are disposed
in several rows, or compacted together like paving stones, as may be
seen in the palate and tongue of glassodenti on the jaws of the ray, on
the pharyngeans of labrus, and many scienee. Some teeth also are
pointed or compressed, and trenchant on two sides, as those in trichi-
urus and chirocentrus ; others with their crown flax, and raised in
salient lines as those of the pharynx of the carp, or which rise in a
mass as those of the pharynx of many cyprins. There are some
teeth again with tubercles on the crown, as those of myletes, &c.

All these teeth are simple, and are produced likewise from one
simple pulpy germ.

Whatever be the form of the teeth, the growth of the simple ones
is always the same, and is accomplished by successive layers, as is the
case with the teeth in mammalia ; but the growth does not proceed at
any time so far as to form a root which would descend into the socket.
The teeth of fishes like those of the monitors and many other saurians,
consist only of that part called the crown, and when this crown is com-
pletely formed, the pulpy nucleus on which it exists becomes ossified;
when the tooth is about to fall, it breaks, and is detached from this
ossified nucleus which remains, and being united to the jaw forms a
part of it; in some species however, as in those of anarhicasi the osseous
nucleus now become larger than the tooth, and forming a prominence
on the jaw, is detached exactly as the stag's horns, and probably by

FISHES. 355

the same sort of mechanical process, and it falls with the tooth which
it supports.

The renewal of the teeth continues during a considerable portion of
life, and according to all appearance, there is tooth for tooth, which
come at very uncertain periods, as happens in the leaves of green
trees.

The new tooth sometimes grows beneath, sometimes at the side, or
behind or before the old tooth.

In the replacement, which takes place vertically, and which parti-
cularly takes place in the round teeth, when the ossified nucleus of
the old tooth is united to the jaw, it is nourished by it, and its texture
becomes cellular ; its cavity is filled, and when the crown is detached,
the surface of the bone is continued ; but deeper still is a cavity, where
the tooth that is to replace the old one begins to be formed : it pene-
trates at the proper period the surface of the bone, and undergoes the
same changes as its predecessor.

The renewal of a bone by the side is peculiar to the great conical
or hooked teeth and also the trenchant ones, the new tooth pierces
the bone on the side of the old tooth, but the latter does not fall the
less by rupture as usually takes place.

Amongst the singularities connected with the dentition of fishes,
we may set down those of the pharynx in cyprins, in the jaws of the
scarus, and in those of the tretrodons and diodons.

The cyprins have no teeth, except in their inferior pharyngeans,
which surround the sides of the pharynx like half collars ; these teeth
are few but very strong ; on the superior surface there is a triangular
plate of dentary substance or enamel, but very hard, and is com-
monly called carp stone ; it is enchased, and looks as if it
were set in a dilatation of the basilar bone. It grows by layers
formed on the surface that touches the bone, and it is against that,
that the inferior pharyngeans compress and bruise the food.

The jaws of the scarus have nearly the external form of a parrot's
beak ; there are little holes at their base by which the teeth, the
germs of which may be seen in the interior, can come out to fix
themselves on their surface, on which the preceeding teeth already
had formed small warts in quincunx ; (a) they are carried also very
gradually towards the edge where they become endowed with
activity, and then those which have preceded them in this situation
fall in consequence of detrition.

Upon the pharyngeans of these fishes the teeth are trenchant, and
grow vertically and in a quincunx on the surface of the bone ; so that
according as the old ones are worn the new ones come up behind
them.

The same process occurs in the pharyngeal! teeth of labrus, with
this single difference that they are round instead of being trenchant.

{£$> (a) Quincunx is a term borrowed from gardners, and which is thus explained.
One row of plants is placed sixteen inches from the end of the plot and sixteen
inches apart, a second row is placed twenty-two inches and a half from the end and
fifteen inches apart, the third row is placed fifteen inches from the end and fifteen
inches apart, and the fourth row again is twenty-two inches from the end and fifteen
inches apart. The plants then will form rhomboidal squares. — Exg. Ed.

A A 2

356 FISHES.

The jaws of the tetrodons would very nearly resemble the pharyn-
geal! bones of scarus, were it not that each of these teeth, or rather
of these lamina, occupies the whole breadth of the bone. The poste-
riors are the most recent and the anteriors the most worn.

In the diadons there are two series of lamina, the one forming the
margin of the jaw, the other series forming a disk situated more
behind, and separated from the margin by a very shallow depression;
they succeed each other, and in s\ich a way, as that in the disk the
posteriors are always the most recent, and in the edge the superior.

But the common character applicable to these two forms of denti-
tion, is that the entire jaw is only armed by two or even a single
compound tooth, the lamina of which grow by the transudation of the
pulpy lamina, which are interposed between them, and are then
united by the same mass of enamel.

The chimera has compound teeth like the two genera we have
spoken of, but they are generated and grow on the germs, like
threads instead of lamina, and their interior tissue is pierced with
fine tubes like a rush, or the teeth of an orycteropus. There are
four plates in the superior jaw and two in the inferior.

The flat and broad teeth of mylobates (fishes belonging to the
family of the rays) are also compound, so far, at least, as their sub-
stance is formed on a vast number of pulpy filaments, and is invested
with the enamel common to the whole.

The teeth of the lamprey arc thin horns, moulded on the fleshy
germs ; and there are various forms and directions on the lips, on the
jaws, and on the tongue ; to these we shall afterwards return.

In the squalus with trenchant teeth the nucleus of the tooth is per-
manently cartilaginous, and is for a long time flexible, so that the
new teeth, which always grow up behind the old ones, remain in the
species where they are trenchant, as in the white sharks, in layers
behind, and sometimes even superposed upon one another in several
ranges. They rise up and the base of their nucleus assumes a con-
sistence when the time has arrived at which they must become active.

There are some species of squalus in which a portion of the teeth
is flat, and broad, and compound, like those of mylobites.

In particular articles we shall enter into the detail which may be
necessary for giving a description of the dentition of each fish.

Deglutition.

In the greater part of osseous fishes, — besides the lips, Avhich even
when they are fleshy and have no muscles proper to themselves,
must of necessity be without the power of retaining the food in the
mouth, — we find generally within each jaw, behind the anterior
teeth, a sort of membranous veil, or little valve formed by a fold of
the internal skin and directed posteriorly, the effect of which must be
to impede the food, and especially the water that is swallowed for
respiration, from running back by the mouth.

The food, seized by the teeth of the jaws, retained by this little
valve, carried further behind by the teeth of the palate and the
tongue when they exist, is prevented by the dentations of the branchial

FISHES. 357

arches, from penetrating into the intervals between the branchiae,
where it might wound organs so delicate as those of respiration.
The movements of the jaw and the tongue cannot make it penetrate
into any other way than that of the pharynx, where it again undergoes
a new action from the teeth of the pharyngeal bones, which triturate
it or cany it further back as far as into the oesophagus.

It cannot be said that there is, in all this passage, any organ which
resembles the functions of the salivary glands : certainly the cyprins
and some other genera have the palate furnished with a thick layer
of a soft red substance, furnished with very numerous nerves, and which
are irritated by the least percussion ; it oozes, from the surface, a
slight mucus, from imperceptible pores ; nevertheless, I do not
from this circumstance, see a salivary gland, or even a gland at all.
It is a particular tissue, very sensible, and which is probably destined
to exercise an office more or less analogous to that of taste.

The oesophagus is lined with a layer of strong muscular fibres,
compact, and sometimes forming various fascia, whose contractions
push the alimentary bit towards the stomach, and it is in this manner
that it is completely swallowed ; for the oesophagus of fishes is neces-
sarily very short in the greater part of the species, since they have no
neck.

Nevertheless there is sometimes in the thickness of the walls of the
oesophagus a glandular substance. It is very apparent in the ray.

The Intestinal Canal.

The viscera of digestion are enclosed in the abdominal cavity,
which is separated anteriorly from that which contains the heart, by
a kind of diaphragm of small extent, formed of a lamina which gives
off the pericardium, and of another which appertains to the perito-
neum ; the diaphragm is deprived of proper muscles, but reinforced
by the aponeurotic fibres between the two lamina, and receives never-
theless some action from one of the muscles of the branchiae : the
great venous sinus occupies a part of its thickness. Another cavity
exists along the spine, and contains the kidneys and aerial bladder;
the peritoneum separates it from the abdomen properly so called, and
at the same time, as in other animals, it is folded within the abdo-
minal cavity, to embrace and suspend the viscera which it contains,
and which are the intestinal canal, the liver, the sjjleen, as well as the
pancreas when it exists. The organs of generation and the urinary
bladder are generally enveloped in folds of the peritoneum, and lodged
in its interior ; but, as we have just said, the kidneys, and even most
frequently the natatory bladder, are without and covered on the side
of the belly only, by the peritoneum.

One thing very remarkable is that there are many fishes, such as
the ray, the squalus, the sturgeon, the lampreys, and the salmon,
which have on the sides of the anus two holes which penetrating into
the abdominal cavity, in such a manner that the anterior lamina of
the peritoneum continues with the epidermis, and appertains to the
order of mucous membranes ; two other holes, at least in the ray and

358 FISHES.

squalus, extend even their continuity as far as the pericardium, and
along all its internal lamina*.

The intestinal canal is composed of the same tunics as in other ver-
teb rated animals, and the variations which they undergo in their respec-
tive thicknesses and their different folds, are analogous to Avhat is
seen in the higher classes, and are not less numerous : it has valvulae
conniventes and internal papilla? of different forms, also coriaceous
indurations and wrinkles in various directions. The fleshy fibres are
reinforced or they become weak ; sometimes a glandular tissue is
placed between the membranes, &c.

The internal folds of the oesophagus are usually longitudinal : its
cavity is continued in a right line to the bottom of the cul-de sac of
the stomach ; sometimes even, as in the cyprins, and labrus, the stomach
has no cul-de sac, and is merely a slight dilatation of the canal which
scarcely deserves the name of stomach ; but, very often, it is curved,
or it is directed from a part more or less adjacent to the entrance,
and from the right side a branch at the extremity of which is the
pylorus. This branch, which is transverse and even ascending, as-
sumes, sometimes, as in the grayling and the mullet, such a thickness
in its fleshy tunic that it constitutes a true gizzard, of which the ordi-
nary stomach represents in such a case, the crop.

The size of the sac forming the stomach, the proportions of its
length and breadth, the thickness of its walls, its wrinkles, &c, are
infinitely varied, and the description of them could only properly find
a place in the individual histories of the species.

The intestinal canal is more or less long, more or less broad, and
forms also more or less folds : its walls vary in thickness, villosities
are more or less marked according to the species. Thus one fish, as
the lamprey, has all straight, others as many of the percoides,form only
two or three folds, and the third, as the hypostome has it as thin as a
cord, and sufficiently long to exceed many times the length of its
body. But these are details for individual histories to enter upon.

There is generally on the side of the anus a small valve, separating
the posterior from the anterior part ; but, in very rare instances only,
is this posterior portion beyond the size of the other, and, in no in-
stance, has it a coecum as is found in the quadrupeds.

One of the most remarkable folds that has hitherto been observed
in the intestines of fishes, is the little spiral valve of the rays, of
squalus, and the sturgeon ; and of this valve vestiges are found even
in the lamprey.

Close to the pylorus in a great number of fishes Avill be found blind
guts, and these often in a considerable number, and of Avhich the
velvetty surface, folded into dense meshes, would appear to furnish in
a great abundance a glary liquid, which is regarded as having a re-
semblance to the pancreatic juice, and which is so much the more
beneficial, since fishes, as we have already mentioned, are generally
without salivary glandsf .

* Munro, Anatomy of Fishes, pi. 1. fig. 5, No. 28, shows the openings of the
abdomen, and plate 2, fig. l , Nos. 22, 23, those of the pericardium in the rays ;
pi. 8 shows those of the abdomen of the sturgeon.

f M. Rathke is of opinion that the spungy substance in the palate of the carp and

FISHES. 359

But the greatest number of these is found in the family of the
scombres ; the cods have many of them ; other fishes, as those of the
labrus, silurus, cyprins, and pike, are entirely destitute of them ;
others, as the perches and pleuronectes have them short, and very
small in number ; river perches have only three, the pleuronectes only
two ; in the sturgeon they are numerous, but still short and united
by vessels and cellular tissue, in a mass which constitutes just a shade
of difference between their usual state of freedom, and the compact
pancreas of the rays and the genus squalus. In the sturgeon each of
these appendices has a communication by means of an appropriate
orifice with the canal. In the rays and squalus, as in the quadrupeds,
the pancreas is a true conglomerated gland, which secretes its fluid
by a common canal.

The anus has some very singular varieties in its position, and does
not depend upon that of the ventral fins in this respect; still it is
always situated more behind than these fins, but when they are under
the throat or when absent, the anus is itself supported frequently
beneath the throat : it is never behind, farther than the base of the tail,
while the abdominal cavity is often prolonged into one or two sinuses
on the ridges of the tail behind the anus.

To give a particular example of the arrangements of the alimen-
tary canal, we shall mention that in the perch, it consists of an oeso-
phagus (A), which is short, of the form of a siphon, which opens im-
mediately into a stomach (/?), formed like an obtuse bottomed sac.
Internally, the oesophagus has dense wrinkles covered with very fine
velvet, and which, in the stomach, are changed into larger wrinkles;
these are salient, irregular and folded across, and amount in number
to seven or eight ; from the right side of the stomach towards the
middle of its height a short branch is given off (C) of the same
nature as the stomach itself, but much more narrow and with
wrinkles only amounting to four or five.

It is at the extremity of this little branch that we find the pylorus,
which is a very delicate constriction, and below it is the velvet sur-
face which is prolonged into a sort of annular little valve, thin and
indented at its margin, and it prevents the return of the food from
the intestine to the stomach.

Around the origin of the intestine, three blind guts or ccecal appen-
dages (D, D, D,) adhere ; they are much thinner, and a little longer
than the branch of the stomach which they surround.

They comiminicate with the intestine by many little orifices situa-
ted behind the little valve of the pylorus. Their internal membrane
is stuck with little fringes, or with small narrow and acute slips, the
bases of Avhich adhere to one another, and form a sort of net- work ; it
oozes out a very copious mucous secretion.

The intestine forms two folds, which proceed at first behind along
the left side, (E, E,) as far as the middle of the abdomen, returning
suddenly towards the stomach by (F, F), and then taking a curved
direction in its course to the anus, it describes an oblique line, (<?).

some other fishes, is a sort of salivary gland ; and it is only in fishes destitute of
pyloric appendages that he has found this substance.

360 FISHES.

The intervals are occupied by the spleen, (#) ; this is placed in the
first fold by the ovary (/T), which is often very voluminous ; and by
the vessels, and lastly, much of the fat poured out by a cellular tissue,
produced by the peritoneal envelope, and which represents in some
respects the omenta of mammalia.

This intestine decreases slightly in its diameter, as far as the middle
of its last line, where a very perceptible swelling marks (L), the com-
mencement of the large intestine or rather the rectum. There is
also, internally, in this place a circular small valve, formed by a very
slight fold of the internal membrane, which prevents the matter that
have once descended in the rectum from getting back again.

The spleen in fishes (H), is variable in position, volume and size,
but it is always present and as invariably solitary ; most frequently
it is near the middle of the folds of the intestinal canal. It only receives,
as in the superior animals, arterial blood which it elaborates and
transmits to the liver, where it sends also the blood of nearly the
whole of tin; remainder of the intestine ; its relative positions with the
stomach differ very considerably, and very often too, from what we
see in the mammalia, and we cannot attribute to it any function
which would constantly arise from the greater or less extent of the
pressure of the stomach upon it.

The liver (M), is generally large, and is situated more towards
the left than the right ; its figure and the number of its lobes are very
various, and this number is sometimes even excessive ; but it is
always furnished with a gall bladder (/V), which is sometimes mode-
rate in size, sometimes very long, and suspended at some distance
from the liver. The excretory canal (n), is inserted in some high
point in the intestine, and sometimes even in the stomach. The latter
I have seen in the moon-fish. The hepatic canals (««-), are sometimes
very numerous, and they are joined successively to the cystic canal.

The substance of the liver is softer than it is in many quadrupeds
and birds, and its tissure is almost always penetrated with a copious
oily substance.

The mesentery of fishes is altogether imperfect, and is frequently
reduced to mere bands surrounding the vessels and nerves and con-
necting the peritoneum, with the peritoneal coat of the canal.

It is very common for this tunic to be prolonged in appendages
filled with oleaginous grease, and which are really nothing but
omenta, (P, P).

In the mesentery we can never find conglobate glands, and it has
always its lacteals as other animals.

Indeed, the absorbent system in fishes does not appear to be less
than in the other vertebrated animals*, and it is certain at all events,
that those of the intestinal canal are uncommonly numerous, and

* William Hewson and Alexander Munro have had a contest respecting; the prior-
ity of the discovery of lymphatic vessels in the oviparous vertebrated animals.
Munro is positive that he has seen them in birds in 1758, 1 759, <ind 1 760, and men-
tioned them in 1767 ; also that he discovered them in the ray, 1760 : and in the tor-
toise in 1765 ; this was published in 1770. Hewson's Memoir on the lymphatics of
birds in Philosophical Transactions was 1768, and on two of the reptiles in 1769,

FISHES. 361

very often form dense meshes, and in several, layers. By means of
injections we can follow them upon the borders of the valvula? eonni-
ventes, and other internal folds of the velvetty surface. They termi-
nate by various trunks in the great venous sinus or in any of the prin-
cipal veins which approach it.

There is no difficulty whatever in obtaining a sight of these of the
other parts, and M. Fohmann has injected those of the branchiae
amongst others with success; we should, therefore, conclude that
nature adopts in this class the same contrivances for absorption, as in
the other oviparous vertebrated animals*.

Circulation^.

Fishes have, as well as warm-blooded animals, a complete circula-
tion for their body, another equally complete for the respiratory
organs, and a peculiar abdominal circulation terminating in the
liver by the vena porta? ; but their appropriate character consists in
this, that their branchial circulation has alone at its base a mus-
cular apparatus, or a heart corresponding with the auricle and the
right ventricle of the animals just mentioned, and that there is nothing
at all like it at the base of the circulatory system of the body, that is
to say, that the analogues of the auricle and right ventricle are
entirely wanted, and that the branchial veins are converted into
arteries without being enveloped with muscles.

* See the fine work which M. Fohmann has just published on the lymphatics of
fishes, forming' a first part of a general history of these vessels in the vertebrated
animals; Heidelberg and Leipsic, 1827, in folio. He represents them in the torpedo,
in the eel, pike, and some portions of silurus and anarrhicus, and of the cod and
salmon. Munro gave a representation of those of the ray in his Anatomy and
Physiology of Fishes, pi. 18, 19.

f Duverney, in his Memoirs of the Academy for 1791, and in his Works, vol. ii.
p. 496, and pi. 9, has described the whole of the apparatus of the circulation and
respiration of fishes, and makes a calculation of the frightful number of perceptible
parts of which he composes it ; in those of 1699, he has given a very particular de-
scription of that of the carp, which is also to be found in his Works, loc. cit. p. 470.
Munro, in his Anat. and Physiol, of Fishes, has represented the principal trunks
of the vascular system in the ray ; the branchial veins and arteries of the body
which spring from them, pi. 1 ; the great venous sinus and branchial arteries,
pi. 2 ; the abdominal arteries and the vena portae, pi. 3. Koelreuter has given the
figure of the heart of a sterlet. (Nov. comm. petrop. vol. xvi. p. 14). Vicq d'Azyr
in the Mem. des Sav. Etr. vol. vii. pi. 7, gives very badly the barbel and plaice.
There is a treatise, ex professo, on the heart of fishes by M. Tiedemann (in German,
Landshut, 1809), with figures of the hearts of the ringed ray, of the bukeled ray, of
the white ray, of the shark (sq\ialus), the emissole (mustellus), the sturgeon,
conger, murena, otter-pike, lote, sole, barbel, scorpcena, the arcuated cha:todon, of
one of the barbel, scisena, of the saurel, orphi, of the fistularia, of the lauricaria, of the
grayling, of the trout, sea-trout, huch, mullet, pike, carp, and another barbel. See
also on the heart of fishes, Peyer, Miscell. ac. cur., dec. 11. ami. 1. p. 201, taken
from the salmon. Muralt, ib., p. 124, of the lote; Collins, pi. 15, fig. V, of a
salmon. Al. Munro Anat. and Phys. of Fishes, pi. 18. fig. I and II of salmon ;
pi. 22, fig. I, of the cod. Koelpin, mem. de l'acad. de Stockholm, in 1769, of
the sword-fish. G. Needham, De Biolychnio, and Valentin, Amph. Zoot. vol.
2, p. 122, of the pike. J. Plancus, Comm. bonon. vol. 2, pi. 11, p. 297, of
tetrodon mola. Doellingcr, Memoires de la Societe de Vetteravie, vol. 2, second
part, pi. 13, fig. I, of the carp.

362 FISHES.

This muscular apparatus of their circulation * is composed of an
auricle («), of a ventricle (£), and of the bulb of the pulmonary
artery ( y ), and the auricle is preceded by a large sinus (S), in which
all the veins of the body terminate. This arrangement makes four
cavities separated by so many constrictions, which the blood must
successively pass through before it can get to the branchiae. The
whole of it is small in comparison to the size of the body, and does not
increase in the same ratio as the^ individual to which it belongs.
Three of these receptacles, the auricle, heart, and bulb are lodged in
the pericardium, which is, itself, placed beneath the pharyngean bones
and between the inferior parts of the branchial arches, and adheres
most commonly to the exterior by the humeral bones. Still its
position is varied, sometimes in the chondropterygians, and especially
in the lampreys.

The great venous sinus (5) is not in the pericardium, but between
the posterior wall of their cavity, and the membrane which fills the
place of the diaphragm, and which is only the anterior part of the
peritoneum strengthened by aponeurotic fibres.

This sinus is extended transversely, and receives by numerous
trunks the veins of the liver, the organs of generation (#), the
kidneys (<!>), the fins, branchiae, and neck, and lastly, the veins of the
head (a;), which themselves pass partly by a sinus (?) behind the cra-
nium. It sends, all the blood by a single orifice of its anterior con-
vexity into the auricle («), which is open at its posterior part to
receive it. Two thin membranous small valves are alone supplied to
this communication, as will be naturally conjectured, directed towards
the auricle.

The auricle («) is in the pericardium anteriorly to the great ve-
nous sinus, and above the ventricle, or in other Avords, on the dorsal
surface.

Its configuration is very varied and also quite fantastic ; it is in
general larger than the ventricle and overlaps it ; still its walls are
thinner, though they may be also of numerous fleshy columns.

Its orifice pierced in its inferior surface is directed to the ventricle
(0), through the medium of the superior surface of the latter, and is
furnished with two small valves, which are analogous to the mitrals
of man, but their attachments are much more simple.

The ventricle (#), at least in the osseous fishes, is generally in the
shape of a tetrahedron; sometimes it is oblong or very nearly oval ;
in the cartilaginous fishes its form is rounded, and frequently de-
pressed.

It is below the auricle ; its cavity is turned round in such a way as
that being nearly vertical in the part which communicates with the
auricle, it becomes horizontal and longitudinal in order to terminate
at the bulb (7). Its walls are very vigorous and fortified on the
inside, with powerful, fleshy muscles ; its substance is formed of two
very distinct layers ; the internal has the fibres more transverse, in

* The heat is seen in pi. 7, fig. I, laterally ; and from below, pi. 8, fig. I :
the sinus and auricle open above, pi. 8, fig, VIII ; the ventricle and bulb open
below, pi. 8, fig. VII.

FISHES. 363

the external they are more longitudinal, and their union is so very
slight that a solution of continuity, which has all the appearance of a
ventricle, is formed pretty frequently between them, but which is
shut in every part, and is not even inside lined by a membrane*.

The most vigorous of the fibres are in the bulb (y) of the branchial
artery, the greater part having a circular arrangement ; the name of
this part is derived from its form ; its communication with the ven-
tricle is supplied sometimes with two, sometimes with three membra-
nous valves ; but, frequently, in its interior, particularly in the
cartilaginous fishes, there are other ranges of small valves, and some-
times even these valves are fleshy.

The prolongation of this bulb proceeds from the pericardium, and
becomes the branchial artery (<?), which is supported before as it pro-
ceeds beneath the azygos chain of small bones which unites the
branchial arches.

The branchial artery is divided more or less immediately, but in
such a way as to give a branch to each branchia.

This branch (Q proceeds in a furrow which is excavated along the
convexity of each branchial arch, and more externally than the vein
which follows it in the same way but in a different direction.

To this arch are attached a large number of parallel leaflets,
usually terminated in a forked point, and sometimes very deeply
divided ; the great branch which goes in the furrow of the arch gives
off a branch (7)) to each of the leaflets, and this branch after having
been twice bifurcated supplies an infinite number of small branchlets,
which creep across on each surface of the leaflet, and terminate by
being converted into minute veins ; these small veins on each side are
lost in a branchial vein (9) which proceeds along the internal border
of the lateral lobe of the leaflet, and the two veins fall into the trunk
and great vein of the gill (a.) which is carried in the same furrow of
the artery, but more deeply, and which proceeds, besides, in a contrary
direction, that is to say, that the branchial artery coming from the
heart and from the ventral side, diminishes in proportion as it ascends
towards the back, and also that it furnishes small arteries, whilst the
branchial vein, on the contrary, receiving by the small veins and
other veins of the leaflets, the blood of these little arteries, increases
in proportion as it is carried towards the back.

The rays have only two veins for each branchia which are not
united until after they pass out.

The branchial veins, on leaving the dorsal side of the branchiae
( M fi) assume the tissue and functions of arteries. The anteriors
had already sent, before leaving the branchia, several branches to
several parts of the head, and it is to be remarked, that the heart and
many places under the chest, receive their blood from a branchial
vein by a ray which it sends to them near its origin, and, conse-
quently, long before its departure from the branchia. Still it is

* M. Dollinger has described it in the cyprins. I have seen it very plainly in the
great sword fish. M. Rathke thinks, and in my opinion with some reason, that it
is produced by the commencement of decomposition.

364 FISHES.

only a union of trunks given off by the four branchiae, which are
formed by the great artery that carries the blood to the viscera
(* wV and to all parts of the trunk, and which is, therefore, the re-
presentative of the aorta in the mammalia, but an aorta that is desti-
tute of any auricle or ventricle.

Thus, then, the left cavities of the heart of the mammalia do not
exist in the fishes, and they are replaced by a simple vascular appa-
ratus, which is situated above the right branchiae as the right
cavities are situated below it.

As has just been observed, the arteries of the head (f f) arise from
the branches which spring from the two first branchiae before they are
united in one trunk. This trunk itself, which is the principal aorta,
gives, from its origin, a large branch for the viscera (w *), which
is variously distributed, according to the species, to the liver,
stomach, intestines, spleen, genital organs, and natatory bladder :
then this trunk ("" <r) follows the direction of the spine, and buries
itself in the rings which are under the vertebrae of the tail. In its
passage it gives branches, right and left, to the kidneys, in the inter-
vals between the ribs, and, in general, to the muscles of the trunk.

The blood thus distributed to the head, trunk, branchial apparatus,
genital organs, and swimming-bladder, is returned to the heart by
the great venous sinus (§) ; but, with the exception of some branches,
that of the stomach, intestines, and spleen, goes to the liver by the
vena portae (*), which varies at least as much as the artery of the
viscera, either by the number of its principal branches which unite
all its smaller branches, or by the number of trunks by which it
penetrates into the liver. There are even species, as the cyprins,
whose liver interlaces its lobes with folds of intestine, and in which
the blood of the intestinal canal directly terminates in the liver in
many small branches, in which nothing can be traced that may be
considered as the trunk of the vena portae*.

An essential observation must be made here, and which corresponds
with what Mr. Jacobson has observed in birds, namely, the existence
of a sort of renal portal vein, but which is subject to the same objec-
tion; the blood from a considerable portion of the muscles of the trunk
passes into the great vein which runs into the vertebral canal above
the spinal marrow, and, as this vein does not terminate anteriorly in
the great sinus, but has a great number of lateral branches which
penetrate the kidney, we may believe that it does not carry the blood,
which it receives, to the heart, but that it distributes it in the kidney
as the vena portae distributes its blood ia the liver. Nevertheless,
as the portion of this vein which is placed behind the abdomen com-
municates by lateral branches with the vena cava which passes under
the spine, we may believe also that it returns to the rank of ordinary
veins.

Respiration .

The blood of fishes undergoes the influence of the surrounding
fluid, by an almost infinite sub-division of vessels on the surface of
the laminae of the branchiae. This liquid is water, and the fish is in-

* See the Memoire of M. Rathke, in the Archives Physiologiques of Meckel,
1826, No. 1, p. 126, for the distribution of the vena portae of fishes.

fishes. 365

cessantly engaged in making it flow to, and pass between, its branchiae,
by the motion of its jaws, and of its opercular and hyoidean appa-
ratuses, such as we have described them above. This process, respi-
ration, is as indispensably necessary to fishes as the respiration of air
to other animals ; they exhibit the same symptoms of distress when it is
stopped, and very rapidly perish. Still the action of the water on
the blood is far more feeble than that of air ; it is not by itself, neither
is it by oxygen, which enters into its composition, that the water
acts ; it is not decomposed, and it is only the small quantity of air
that it keeps in solution and mixes with itself, which serves for the
respiration of these animals : if it be deprived of air by boiling, it
kills them instantly ; it is even necessary for some fishes to come up
to respire the air in its natural state, especially when the water in
which they live is exhausted of it. We have very conclusive expe-
riments on this head, and it is only necessary to remove certain fishes
from the surface of the water by means of a diaphragm of gauze to
asphyxiate them*.

In this respiration, as in that of the higher animals, the atmos-
pheric air, as well as the air contained in the water, loses its
oxygen(a).

* Spallanzani has shown that fishes absorb oxygen and convert it into carbonic
acid. M. Silvestre has shown that they respire atmospheric air, or that which is
contained in water. M. M. De Humboldt and Provencal, applying to this question
the processes of a perfect chemistry, have obtained the results .spoken of above.
Their memoir is inserted amongst those of the Society of Arcueil, vol. xi. p. 339, et
seq. and in the Zoolog. Observ. of M. De Humboldt, vol. xi. p. 294.

{£jr* (a) In their character of cold blooded animals, the fishes have been sub-
jected to more extensive enquiries and experiments than any other of the cold-
blooded orders. Spallanzani, Sylvestre, Humboldt, Provencal, Priestley, Edwards,
and others, have made this class the object of their minutest attention.

Priestley, who imagined that the principal use of the blood and lungs in man and
other mammalia, was to eject phlogiston (l) from the system, thought that it would
be interesting to find out if fishes gave any of this phlogiston to "water.

With this view he put two (a large perch and an eel) into a pail of water; and
when they had been in it about twenty-four hours he nearly filled a large phial with
the water, and in it he agitated a small quantity of common air between six and
seven minutes, and found that it was considerably injured by the operation ; for two
measures of this and one sixth, and by standing several days were never less than
two measures. But when he agitated an equal quantity of air in the same quantity
•of the same water in which no fishes had been confined, and for the same space of
time, it was not injured in the slightest degree. It is evident, therefore, according
to Priestley, that phlogiston is discharged from fishes as well as from other animals ;
that this phlogiston affects the water, and this water the air that is agitated in it ;
and in the same manner as the fishes themselves would have affected it, if it had
been possible for them to breathe it. Other experiments confirmed and extended
these conclusions. Having filled a phial with some water from the hot well at
Bristol, which he found to contain air in a great state of purity, he put a few min-
nows and other small fishes into it, about two inches in length, and confined them
■without any access of common air until they died. He then took equal quantities of
the foul and of fresh water, and expelled from both all the air they would yield.
That from the water in which no fishes had been put, or the fresh, exceeded the
foul in the proportion of three to two ; and by the test of nitrous air, the former

(1) Phlogiston was the name of a combustible principle supposed to exist in all
bodies, and that when burned, these bodies gave out the principle. But Lavoisier's
discovery of oxygen gas exploded phlogiston.

366 FISHES.

Upon the whole, the absorption of the oxygen is very feeble, and
it has been computed that a man consumes fifteen thousand times
more air than a tench.

exceeded the latter in a still greater proportion. The fresh was about the standard
of common air, and the foul somewhat worse than the air in which a candle just goes
out: it might have been worse, but the water remained in an open vessel all night
before the experiment. Hence, air contained in water in an unelastic state is as
necessary to the life of fishes, as air in an elastic state is to that of land animals.

He then had no doubt but that putting fishes into water impregnated with air
thoroughly phlogisticated would be equally injurious to them, as this air in an elastic
state is to land animals ; and this was verified. He began with rain water which
contained no air, having been recently boiled. He put nine small fishes into a
vessel containing about three pints of it, and they lived between three and four
hours no air having been admitted. Two fishes were put into a pint of it impreg-
nated with phlogiston from air that had been phlogisticated six months before by
means of iron filings and sulphur, and they lived in it nearly an hour. It was very
imperfectly impregnated. Inflammable air had a similar effect. John Hunter
having informed him that fishes would not live in water impregnated with fixed air,
he tried it, and found that small fishes would not live in it move than a few minutes.
It is well known that all spa waters containing fixed air are fatal to fishes, frogs,
and insects. He found that in water impregnated with nitrous air they were
affected in the same manner, but more violently ; but as a decomposition of some
small part of the nitrous air might take place before he could possibly slip the
funnel into the neck of the phial, he introduced the fishes into the vessel in which he
had impregnated the water while it remained inverted in the basin, the remainder of
the nitrous air not imbibed by the water still resting upon it. The phial contained
something more than a pint, and the nitrous air occupied about one-fourth of it.
Into this vessel he introduced two small fishes, and they continued very quiet, with-
out being seized with any convulsions (as happened before), ten minutes, or a quarter
of an hour, before they died. Hence, the cause of the convulsions, in the former
experiment, arose not from the nitrous air, properly speaking, but nitrous acid, which
acted like the fixed air, another kind of acid. Whereas now the fishes were no
otherwise affected than in water with phlogisticated or inflammable air, except that
the water had imbibed more of the nitrous air, and hence was sooner fatal to them.

Broussonet, a French chemist, was the next who made experiments on fishes.

On the 20th of June, 1784, Broussonet put a couple of ten-spined stickle-backs
(epinoches) into some water at a temperature of 14 degs. This was gradually heated,
and at the end of two hours and a half the thermometer mounted to 28 degs. : the
fishes then became agitated, but on being cast into fresh water they became well
again in a few minutes.

On the 10th of November, 17S4, he put a carp, some bleaks, gudgeons, and perch,
into some water of the Seine at 5 degs., and the bottom of the vessel was covered
with sand. At 25 minutes past twelve o'clock the thermometer was at 6f degs. ; at
30 minutes at 8 degs., &c. This experiment lasted till 45 minutes past four; and
he marked the degrees of heat every five minutes, pouring some fresh water into the
vessel at different times in small quantities. At 12 degs., the smallest fishes began
to rise to the surface of the water, became agitated and ill ; yet the Seine water is
much warmer in the summer. At 21 degs. the small bleaks were nearly dead. At
22 degs. the perch were motionless and reversed. The gudgeons, which were of a
larger size, did not appear to suffer till 23 degs. ; whilst the carp was not at all
agitated, its respiration being only more frequent. At 2S degs., at which point the
water was kept 15 minutes, the carp began to lose its equilibrium, and became ill ; it
afterwards appeared dead, and only came to itself again after being left a long time
in fresh water. Broussonet employed four hours and a half in bringing the heat of
the water to 2S degs. He is of opinion that, with certain precautions, fish would
live in a w r ater heated beyond 28 degs.

But the experiments on which the greatest reliance is deservedly placed, are these
of Sir Humphrey Davy, who resolved on ascertaining the truth of the power which
had been long attributed to fishes, namely, that they could decompose water into
oxygen gas. The following is an account of his experiments.

FISHES. 367

All this oxygen does not return under the form of carbonic acid :
there always remains a little in the body of the fish, which likewise

1st Experiment. He expelled, by long boiling, the atmospheric air from 64
cubic inches of sea-water : he then excluded it from the air by means of mercury.
Having then introduced a small mullet, it was instantly convulsed, and died in a few
minutes.

2d Experiment. A quantity of water was freed, by boiling, of its atmospheric
air : two receivers, each of the capacity of 36 cubic inches, were filled with this
water : into one of these two cubic inches of nitrogen were introduced, into the other
two of phos-oxygen. By long and constant agitation the gasses were dissolved by
the water, which was excluded from the contact of air by mercury. Into each of
the receivers two minnows were introduced. Those in the water holding nitrogen
in solution died in about four minutes, those in the water holding phos-oxygen, in
solution appeared totally uninjured, and when examined, after some hours, were still
alive and healthy.

3d Experiment. The same receivers used in the last experiment were filled with
distilled water freed from atmospheric air by a second boiling. Into each of these
three cubic inches of phos-oxygen were introduced. The receivers were then
agitated for some tinie^ till the water in each of them had dissolved an equal
quantity of gas ; they were then inverted in a trough of mercury, so as to exclude
atmospheric air from them. Four minnows were then conveyed into one of them
through mercury. The receivers were now suffered to remain untouched for six
hours, when they were examined. The minnows were alive, and no gas remained
in the top of the receiver in which they had respired. The gas in the top of the
other receiver remained nearly the same as at the commencement of the experiment.
A quantity of lime-water was poured into each of these receivers ; in that in which
the fishes had existed there was a very perceptible cloudiness, occasioned, as Davy
supposed, by the formation of carbonat of lime ; in the other there was no percep-
tible change.

From these experiments Davy concludes, that the venous blood in the gills of
fishes is phos-oxydated by the phos-oxygen held in solution by water ; and that car-
bonic acid, and probably water, are given out as excrementitious by the venous
blood in their gills. With respect to the decomposition of water by fishes in
respiration, as there is no evidence of hydrogen being formed, there can be no reason
for the supposition.

But the most interesting of the experiments made on fishes, were those of Dr.
Edwards, in Paris, whose work " Influences des agens physiques," is referred to in a
note by the author.

Dr. Edwards, during a series of experiments, the philosophical results of which
have not been exceeded since the days of Spallanzani, has proved that fishes are
affected precisely in the same way as reptiles by the privation of air. He also proved
that the former like the latter, could not bear an increase of temperature. The only
difference between the two orders of animals in this respect is, that the fishes are
influenced by this privation according to their size. The younger the fish and the
smaller, the less capable is it of bearing an elevation of temperature. After varying
in his experiments, the temperature and the quantities of water with which air was
mixed, he found from the results, that the following laws were established.

1st. That the duration of life goes on increasing with an increase of the quantity of
aerated water, the temperature remaining the same.

2nd. That the same result takes place when the quantity of water remaining the
same, we lower the temperature.

3rd. That the duration of life remains the same, when, within certain limits, we
increase or diminish, at the same time, both the temperature and the quantity of
aerated water.

It was ascertained, previously to the time of Dr. Edwards, that if a fish be placed
in a small given quantity of aerated water, the water absorbs the air in contact with
its surface, a fact from which this inference is readily deduced that the life fcf an
animal in a limited quantity of water will be protracted the longer, the more copiously
the water absorbs air to compensate for what it supplies to the animal. Now, Dr.

368 FISHES.

preserves always a certain proportion of azote, which it employs
perhaps, partly to fill the natatory bladder.

There are also fishes which swallow atmospheric air, and convert

Edwards, considering the bearings of this phenomenon, actually took a large mouthed
vessel into which he put five ounces and half of aerated water ; he brought the water
to the temperature of 68 deg. Fahr. Into this vessel he put a little fish called the
bleak (cyprinus alburnus) and in a few minutes the animal died. He then tried
another fish in the same vessel, and with the same quantity of water, but with a
decrease of its temperature, amounting to ten degrees only, when the animal conti-
nued to live until its secretions became so abundant that they actually corrupted the
water. Here, then, we have the important principle determined that the more the
temperature is raised beyond certain limits, the greater is the degree of influence of
the air required for the support of life.

But of all the experiments to which fishes have been subjected, that is by far the
most intensely interesting which is carried on by exposing them merely to the action
of the atmosphere.

The fishes themselves, indeed, have suggested this modification of man's experi-
ments, because, when, in a given quantity of water which hasbeenaerated, a fish has
reduced the combined portion of air contained in it until its respiration becomes very
difficult, then the creature rises to the surface and actually takes it from the air itself,
and so essential is this operation to them, that, as Sylvestre has proved by experi-
ment, the fish cannot live in a small quantity of water if we exclude the atmospheric
air from its surface. This naturalist placed a diaphragm on a vessel in which a fish
had been previously put, and he found that the result was a speedier termination to
the life of this animal than befell another animal of the same kind in another vessel
which was freely exposed to the atmosphere. Hence, then, we have a most unde-
niable proof that the structure of the gills of fishes was endowed with a double
faculty of extracting oxygen from water, and also from air, two fluids so differing in
their chemical constituents.

The existence of fishes in the atmosphere is one of the most mysterious facts in
comparative anatomy. If we take a fish out of water it dies, some in a few minutes,
and others in a few hours, and hence the conclusion was universally received that
fishes died in the atmosphere because the state of the air in it was too thick as
compared with its condition when dissolved in water. Now it is likewise true that
nearly all the vertebrated classes of animals perish from the very contrary cause,
namely, the transition from the atmosphere into aerated water, so that whilst the
latter die in water because they have too little air, fishes die in the atmosphere
because they have too much.

The most marked effect derived from the exposure of fishes to the atmosphere, is
the loss by perspiration. Dr. Edwards took out of water a chub and a gudgeon,
and wiping them and then weighing them, he exposed them to the air. Their gills
continued to move till death, but their bodies were observed to get gradually dry, and
when they died they were stiff and dry as chips. He then weighed them, and found
that the first had lost nearly one-fourteenth of its weight, the other one-fifteenth.
This naturalist having, in his researches on the reptiles, found a great many inter-
esting results produced by the loss of perspiration from exposure to air, and resolved
upon ascertaining if the same consequences could be obtained in the fishes. We
extract his account of the effects, from the very excellent translation of Dr. Edwards'
work by Doctors Hodgkin and Fisher.

" To simplify the examination of this subject, let us here consider, as we have
done in our researches on the batrachians, the losses by perspiration, as solely at
the expense of the water contained in the animal. Capacity of saturation with
water implies the quantity of this liquid which an animal is able to contain, between
the point of greatest repletion, or saturation, and that of the greatest inanition,
compared with the weight of its body. The means of carrying the body to the
point of saturation when it is capable of absorbing water, is to place it in that fluid,
until the increase in weight has arrived at its maximum. This is exactly the con-

FISHES. 369

the oxygen into carbonic acid, in making it pass through their intes-
tines. Such is the cobites, according to the curious experiments of

diticm in which fishes are found in their natural state, and on removing: them from
the water in which they live, we may regard them as saturated with this liquid, pro-
vided they are in a state to absorb it. Now we shall take the measure of their ca-
pacity of saturation with water, as we have hitherto done in regard to the batra-
cliians, the loss which they experience by perspiration before death ; and we see it
is sufficient to ensure the death of fishes, that they lose the fourteenth or fifteenth
part of their weight. If this loss appear too inconsiderable for us to ascribe the
death of these animals to it, let us compare this result with those which we ob-
tained in our researches on the batrachians. They were not given in the preceding
chapter, that they might be reserved for this occasion. It has been shewn that the
point of saturation with water, in the case of the batrachians, depends on the state
of their nutrition, and that it may vary within very considerable limits. Now, the
losses which they undergo by perspiration vary in the same manner. In conditions
favourable to nutrition, their capacity of saturation may equal the third of their
weight; but, in unfavourable conditions, it is so small, that the least appreciable loss
is sufficient to cause death. On applying these results to fishes, whose capacity for
water is small compared to that of batrachians, we shall see that the loss which they
experience by evaporation is enough to cause their death in air. But the pheno-
mena relative to this subject are not always so simple ; they may be very compli-
cated : one might he led to believe, that atmospheric respiration would keep fishes
alive, if we could devise means for obviating their loss of weight by evaporation.
With this view, a fish which had been wiped and then weighed, was suspended in
a limited quantity of aerated water, so that it had its head and gills above the
surface ; it died in nine hours and twenty-one minutes. On then weighing it again,
it appears that it had not sensibly diminished in weight, but on the contrary, had
slightly increased. This result would appear to be independent of the cause we
have before assigned for the death of fishes, where the whole body is exposed to the
action of the atmosphere. But before enquiring into the influence of a new cause
which may be added to the first, let us more attentively examine the complicated
case in which fishes are found in the circumstances of the experiment last related.
The body is plunged in water, but the head and gills are exposed. On one hand ab-
sorption takes place in the water, on the other, perspiration in the air. The ab-
sorption by the body plunged in water is proved by the slight increase of weight
which takes place during the experiment, and the loss by perspiration from the part
exposed to the air is demonstrated by the preceding experiments. Now it is evi-
dent, that the organ of respiration, which is exposed to the atmosphere, cannot
continue its functions unless the losses by perspiration are repaired. It is true,
the rest of the body absorbs, and that on the whole, it does not lose any of its
weight; but this condition is not sufficient for the continuance of respiration. It
is also necessary that the distribution of the fluid absorbed by the trunk, should be
such, that the gills and muscles which move them should receive a proportion of it,
capable of repairing the loss which those organs experience by perspiration. Pre-
suming it possible that this equilibrium might not take place, I made the following
experiment to enquire into the relations of partial apd simultaneous perspiration
and absorption. I placed some fishes in the opposite position to that of the fish em-
ployed in the last experiment, that i--. with the head and jrills in water of the same
quality and quantity, and the trunk, suspended in the air by a thread passed through
the end of the tail. They lived in this state many days. I weighed them after
that interval, and discovered that there was evidently, in this case, a slight increase
of weight. But the drying of the surface of the part of the trunk exposed to the
air, was as marked as in the ease where these animals were entirely exposed to the
atmosphere, and where they died after a considerable diminution in weight. It is
therefore evident, that the fluid absorbed by the gills wa9 not distributed to the rest
of the body in a proportion Miffieient to repair, in all parts of the trunk, the loss
which it had sustained by perspiration in air.

" The following fact, relative to the physical conditions of fishes in air, is impor-
tant in the consideration of the principal causes of their death when so placed.

VOL. II. B B

370 FISHES.

M. Ehrmann, and even in all there is a similar transmutation on their
skin or under their scales.

When fishes remain out of the water they perish, not on account of
the want of oxygen, but because their gills become dry*, and the
blood cannot circulate there easily : also the species in which the
branchial orifice is narrow, as the eel, or those which possess some
receptacle in which they preserve water, as the anabas and the
Ophicephtlus, subsist for a longer time in the air, whilst those in
which the gills are very cleft, as the herring, expire the instant they
are taken from the water.

Particular Excretions and Secretions.

The excretions of fishes, as those of the other animals, are performed
either by the skin, or by special secretory organs.

The kidneys are more voluminous in them than in any other class,
and extend on both sides of the spine along the abdominal cavity,
often ascending as far as under the base of the cranium and above
the gills and the heart : they are often united to each other by their
posterior part, and even, in almost all the acanthopterygians, they
unite at their anterior part above the oesophagus. In the perch this

Some fishes, when exposed to the air, soon cease to move their gills, although
they continue to live pretty long afterwards ; but they die much sooner than those
of the same species ■whose gills beat to the last. Suspecting that this difference in
the duration of life proceeded from the interception of the air, I remedied it by
raising the gills by a small peg placed beneath them. The branchiae were thus ex-
posed to the air. This change of condition, in relation to the atmosphere, proved
sufficient to protract life as long as in those cases in which the respiratory move-
ments were continued spontaneously. The effect of thus raising the gills is so con-
siderable, that if the gills of a fish, out of water, have quickly ceased to beat, we
may, by its means, restore for a while, their spontaneous action, and eve*n do so for
several times in succession. We see, therefore, that the life of fishes in the atmo-
sphere, depends on several conditions ; of which the principal are, temperature, the
capacity of saturation with water, the corresponding loss by perspiration from the
trunk and gills, the quickness of this loss, the action of the muscles which moves
the gills, and the use which they make of their muscles to avail themselves of the
action of the air upon the gills. In short, they come under the general law, rela-
tive to the influence of the atmosphere on the life of vertebrated animals. As fishes
seem to form an exception to this law, I have thought; it necessary to shew that
they are so only in appearance. What has been here stated relative to the life of
fishes in the atmosphere, is equally applicable to tadpoles, placed in the same cir-
cumstances. They die from the quantity of water which they lose by perspiration,
and although their capacity of saturation is, at least, equal to that of frogs, since
it varies between one-third and one-fourth of their weight, yet, as their size is very
small, and their perspiration rapid, on account of the delicacy of their skin, they
soon lose that proportion of water, and in the experiments which I made, I found
that they did not live more than four hours."

We shall conclude our account of fishes by mentioning that in their case too, as
well as in all others connected with the animal and vegetable kingdoms, there is
evidence that they are subject to the same general laws as nature has imposed on
every member of her vast dominions, namely, that there are many instances of
exception to this incapability of enduring high temperatures. It is proved that some
fishes actually live exclusively in hot springs which are literally three times higher in
temperature than the water by which Dr. Edwards killed fishes in a few minutes. —
Eng. Ed.

* See Edwards, Influences des agens physiques sur la vie.

FISHES. 372

anterior part is very voluminous. In the cyprins the kidneys arc en-
larged, particularly opposite the constriction of the natatory bladder.
The ureters, more or less long, according to their genera, end in a
dilatation, which supplies the place of a bladder, and whose external
orifice is placed immediately behind the anus and the orifice of the
organs of generation, which themselves open, sometimes within, some-
times on the border even of the anus, but always at its posterior part,
Avhich is the inverse of what is seen in quadrupeds. Sometimes, as
in the chondropterygians, the orifices of the ureters and those of
the vasa deferentia give a cloacum which is either common or at
least in the same opening.

The skin of fishes is moistened by various humours prepared by
appropriate vessels opening externally at different points according
to the varieties of the genera. This generally is a mucus which it is
exceedingly difficult to dilute Avith water.

]n the ray there is at first, on the inferior surface, a large vessel
which surrounds the snout, forming there angles and very regular
circular lines, and which pours its liquor on either side by three or
four branches, reflecting itself upwards to terminate in a great num-
ber of little apertures, and we see further on each side, at the exter-
nal angle of the branchiae, a sort of round and while bursa, into
which a considerable branch of the fifth pair of nerves penetrates,
and from which a multitude of long and simple vessels, proceeding
in radiating bundles in four or five directions, ultimately disembogue
themselves at various points of the skin, each being situated very
remotely from each other *.

Almost all the thickness of the snout of the squalus is occupied by
a cellular tissue filled with mucilage, whence proceed the bun-
dles of tubes which secrete this mucilage by the pores of the skin, and
we there see further, large regular vessels, of which one runs all the
length of each side of the body.

In the cod, there is a large vessel which runs along the whole
length of the body, bifurcates behind the eye, proceeds by two
branches on each side towards the end of the snout, and gives, at
intervals, branches which open into the skin: a smaller one creeps
along the preoperculum and the inferior gill.

The eel and conger have large openings at different points of their
snouts, through which those long vessels open that are analogous to the
vessels forming in the rays, such regular circular lines ; but each
species will offer in this respect differences which it will be requisite to
enumerate in its proper article, and we shall content ourselves here
with these indications.

The lateral line of fishes has generally some secretory apparatus
which follows its length; this is seen, in particular, very distinctly in
the tunny, in which a body of a much deeper red than the rest of the
flesh, passes every where beneath the lateral line; this gives off
small tubes constituting the pores of the line; each of these small
tubes receives a filament of nerve, from the lateral line, there is some-
thing very much like it in the carp.

* Munro, pi. V.

3"2 FI8HK8.

Tlie cellular tissue placed under the skin, is more or less filled with
an oily grease : it is abundant in the genera of salmons, and in some
other fishes noted for being fat; but this is not the greatest number.
In some, as the moon-fish, there is a thick layer of a kind of bacon ;
but gelatinous and not oily.

An oily grease fills also, very generally, the interval between the
muscles, and we have seen that it is almost always round the brain.

Some fishes, nevertheless, want this grease; the cod, the pluronectes,
and. in general, the cartilaginous fishes have it not even in the cra-
nium ; the sturgeon on the contrary, lias this grease, which surrounds
the brain very abundant and very compact.

One of the most rem irkable secretions which take place in the
body of fishes, is that of the air which fills their natatory bladder; at
least it is pretty certainthat, in the very numerous genera in which this
bladder has no external communication, the air, which it contains, can
only be produced by a secretion, for which purpose there is an addition
in these genera of very diversified glandular organs*. There also
exist fishes, such as the eel, which combine a canal of communication
with the glandular organs ; but in the greatest part of those which
have this canal, we do not see the glands.

The bladder itself is composed of a tunic, extremely fine internally,
and of another tunic which is thicker ; itisalsoof a verypcculiarfibrous
nature, and which yields the best isinglass; it is lined externally
by the general tunic, which the peritonium affords to all the intes-
tines. It is sometimes simple, as in the perch ; sometimes furnished,
as in certain cod, with appendices more or less numerous, and some-
times branched, as in certain scicenas ; sometimes it is divided into two
parts, one anterior and the other posterior, by a strangulation, as in
the cyprins, the myripristis, the therapons, and many of the salmons,
or into two lateral parts by an emargination, as in the tetrodons and
the diodons. The catcstomes have it divided into three parts. . It is
principally in the abdominal fishes that it communicates by a pipe
with the intestinal canal, cither with the oesophagus as in the cyprins,
or with the I ottom of the stomach as in the herrings. That of the
sturgeon is immediately directed into the oesophagus by a large
opening. It is sometimes furnished with muscles proper to itself, es-
pecially in the scioena, and in several salmons of the division of charax,
(the sargus of the author.)

It is generally azote, mixed with seme fractional parts of oxygen
or caibcnic acid, which is found in the natatory liladderf.

Nevertheless, M. Configliacchi asserts that he has found there as
much as forty centimes of oxygen ; M. Biot has remarked that those
fishes which are accustomed to live in deep water, have this gas in a

* Gauthier Needbam, in his treatise De format o fceto, is the first who cave par-
ticular attention to this organ, and who established the fact that the air is intro-
duced into it by secretion. Redi in his Observations on Animals that feed on
living animals, has settled the precise bo lies which are employed in several fishes for
this secretion; Kalfceuter has also given proofs of this origin in his memoir on the
late, Nov. Coinm. petrop., vol. xix. My Memoir on the Maigre as respects the same
subject is in the Mem du Mus., vol. I., p. i.

t This observation is dull : originally to Fourcroy.

FISHES. 373

greater quantity, and he once found it to amount to eighty-seven cen-
times*.

The most ohvious use of the natatory bladder is to keep the fish in
equilibrium with the water, or to render it heavier or lighter than
that fluid, and to allow it to descend or rise, according as it com-
presses or dilates this organ. To accomplish this, it is only necessary
for the fish to approximate to, or separate the sides from, each other.
It is certain that fishes, in which it has keen burst, remain at the
bottom of the water, and are turned upside down, no longer enjoying
the facility of motion which they exercised before.

A curious phenomenon occurs when fishes are caught by the line,
and which are fished up from a great depth with such expedition,
that they have not time to compress their bladder, or to empty it of
the air it contains ; this air, being no longer compressed by the large
column of water which pressed upon it, bursts the bladder and diffuses
itself in the abdomen; it dilates it to a great extent, and pushes the
oesophagus and stomach into the mouth. f

It has been thought j; that, the natatory bladder may be also an aux-
iliary to the organs of respiration ; it is certain that when a fish is
deprived of it, the production of carbonic acid by its gills is almost
reduced to nothing §.

But, as to what has been said respecting its being essentially the
analogue of the lungs, because in certain species it communicates
with the oesophagus, and because it is not more destitute of cells and
vessels than the lungs of salamanders, for example, we must declare
that this does not appear to us to rest upon any real foundation.

Not only is there no resemblance in the distribution of vessels ;
not only has the natatory bladder of an infinite number of fishes — of
indeed by far the greatest number without any comparison — no direct
external communication ; but in many it isat the bottom of the stomach,
that the canal by which it is made, opens, and, in fine, in the species
even in which this communication takes place by the oesophagus, it is
not in the same relative connexion ; but is above that the natatory
bladder opens into the canal, whilst the lung always communicates
with it below (a).

* See on the air contained in the 'swimming bladder, the Memoire of M. Bict,
in the first volume of la Socidte d'Arcueil, p. 252, 1S07 ; part of this of M. M. Pro-
vencal and of Humboldt, on the respiration of fishes, same work, vol. II, p. 359,
1809 ; and the work entitled : Sull' analisidell' aria eontenuta nella vescica natatoria
dei pesci ; memoria di Pietro Configliacchi ; Pavie : 1 S09, in 4to.

f This was observed in the Mediterranean by M. M. Bict and De Larochc.

X M. Gotthelf de Fischer, on the natatory bladder of fishes. Leipsic, 1 795.

§ This is the result of the experiment by M. M. de Humboldt and Provencal,
lac. cit.

fj^* (a) Upon tbi~ singular organ much light has been thrown in modern times ;
the principal facts connected with it have been recently collected by Dr. 'liedmann,
professor of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Heidelberg, and t"> him we
are indebted for the following summary .

The impression of most naturalists is that the greater part of the fishes possess,
independently of their gills, another organ analogous to the lungs, which is the
natatory or swimming bladder. This organ is situated in the abdominal cavity,
along the inferior surface of the vertebral column, and it generally communicates with

374 FISHES.

As for the rest, whatever opinion may be formed respecting its
uses, it is difficult to explain how an organ so considerable has been
denied to so great a number of fishes, and not only to those which
generally remain quiet at the bottom of the water, as the rays and

the pharynx oi - the stomach by means of ainembranous canal. Many blood vessels, as
■well as the branches of the pneumogastric and great sympathetic (l) nerves are dis-
tributed through its sides. The air it contains is composed, according to the re-
searches of Priestley (2), Fourcroy (3), Brodbelt (4), Bict (5), Erman (6), Con-
figliachi (7), Provencal and Humboldt (8), Geoflroy (9), and Delaroche (10), of the
same elements as the air, that is, of oxygen, azote, and carbonic acid ; but their
proportions are subject to great variation. Erman has found, in fresh water, fishes
less of oxygen than there is in atmospheric air, whilst, according to Bict, the pro-
portion of this same gas is more considerable in sea-fish, especially those which keep
at a great depth. Lac^pede (l) pretended that he has" also found in it hydrogen,
but no other naturalist agrees with him on this assertion.

Very probably the natatory bladder performs the part of an accessory organ in
respiration, as Fischer (2), Nitzocb (3), G. R. Treviranus (4), and many others have
admitted. The fishes which are remarkable for their very quick and prolonged move-
ments, appear to be principally those whose respiration is carried on by the assistance
of this organ. They appear to accumulate the respirable air in those circumstances
in which they take in more than they can consume, and employ this reserve in other
circumstances in which they have need of a greater quantity of air. And what seems
to favour this hypothesis, is that flying fish, such as the mullets, and according to
the researches of Humboldt, the flying fish are furnished with very ample natatory
bladders. Delaroche has also seen this organ very large in the flying scorpcena,
whilst those species of the same genera which do not fly (scorpcena, porcus, serofa,
dactyloptera, &c.) ; are generally without it. A volumious natatory bladder is
likewise found in the salmons, the sword-fishes, the pike, the herring, &c, which are
distinguished for the rapidity of their progress, whilst it is not so in those fishes
accustomed to remain at the bottom of the waters or in the mud, and whose move-
ments are slow, as the rays, the lampreys, many blennies, the remora, the bull
heads, &c.

It is still doubtful whether this bladder ought to be considered as acting simul-
taneously as an organ vicarious to the process of natation, and allowing, by its dis-
tention or contraction, the fishes to raise or to sink themselves into the water, as is
the opinion of Borelli. As many fishes deprived of it are nevertheless good swim-
mers, as in others it does not always communicate with the pharynx and stomach by
means of a canal which allows the air to pass out of it ; and in fine, as it is sometimes,
as in the loche cobites fossilis, for example, enclosed in an osseous capsule, which
consequently does not allow it to dilate or shrink : this opinion does not appear very
plausible. It may again be alleged that fishes in which the natatory bladders has
been burst, still retain the faculty of rising and descending in the water, as the ex-
periments of Humboldt and Provengal have incontestably proved.

Many fish breathe also by the intestinal canal, by means of the air which they
swallow. This fact Erman has demonstrated in his beautiful experiments on the
cobites fossilis. The air escapes at the anus in the state of carbonic acid gas. The
electric eel rises also to the surface of the water, according to the observations of
Humboldt, in order to take in the air.

Sylvester has also shown that fishes which thrust themselves into the mud occa-
sionally, rise to the surface of the water for the purpose of obtaining the air mixed
with it, the air which they had in the water below being wholly consumed by
respiration.

The results of the experiments by Dr. Edwards, of Paris, prove that the necessity
of respiration is increased in fishes by increase of temperature, so that during sum-
mer very many fishes are obliged to draw in air by the mouth.

Such are the facts recorded by this author, and it only remains for us to refer the
reader to the very curious and interesting experiments of Dr. Edwards, to which
M. Tiedmann has just alluded, and of which an account will be found in the preced-
ing Section on Respiration. — Eng. Ed.

FISHES. 375

pleuronectes, but to many others which appear to yield to none in the
rapidity and facility of their movements, as the mackarel, for example.
The presence or absence of the natatory bladder is not even consistent
with the other relations of conformation of fishes, and even in the
mackarel genus, a species very similar to the common mackarel,
(the scomb. pneumatophorus of Laroch.), is found provided with it*.
There are many similar examples ; the polynemus paradisseus wants
it, whilst all the rest of the genus are provided with it; it is very large
in the sebastes, and in a neighbouring genus, the pelores (m), it is
scarcely the size of a pea.

The power with which a small number of fishes is endowed of
producing electric shocks, may also be ranked amongst their greatest
singularities of organization, so much the more as the organs by
which they exercise this power do not differ less between themselves
than they differ from organs of other kinds.

In the torpedo, there are membranous tubes filled with mucus, and
divided by transverse septa, which are closely compacted together,
like the radii of bees, in two groups placed on each side of the head,
and which receive enormous branches from the fifth and eighth
pairs of nervesf . In the gymnotus, we find this apparatus occup\ 7 ing
the whole under part of its body to an immense thickness, formed
by parallel laminse, which are separated by very delicate layers of
mucilage J.

In the silures, two layers, of different substances, are interposed
between the skin and muscles throughout the greater part of the body.
The external one is cellular, and its external surface aponeurotic ; it
receives the nerves of the fifth pair. The internal layer is of a floccu-
lent tissue ; and derives its nerves from the intercostals §.

* See the Memoire of M. de Laroche, upon the anatomy of the natatory bladder
of fishes, and my report upon this Memoire, in the Annales du Museum, t. XVI.

■p The benumbing power of the torpedo was well known to the ancients, and both
Ossian and Claudian have celebrated it in song. Among the moderns, Borelli and
Redi have been occupied with it. Lorenzini, in 167S, in a special work Observa-
seni intorno alle torpidini; Koempber, in 1712, Amon. exot., p. 509 ; Reaumur, in
1714, Mem. de l'Acad. des Sciences, p. 344, have described this singular action,
and the organs which were the seat of it. The latter were dissected and examined
more in detail by J. Hunter, Phil. Trans. 1773, vol. 63. The electric nature of the
shock was determined by Walsh's experiments in 1772, at the island of Re, and
Rochelle, and his account reported in the same volume of the Transactions, as also
in vol. IV of the Journ. de Physics. The organs have likewise been described by
M. Geoffroy, Ann. du Mus. vol. 1 ; but he has very unwittingly believed them to be
representatives of the mucous vessels of the rays. The latter vessels arc found in
the torpedo quite independently of the electric organs.

X The electric power of the gymnotus, has been discovered by Richter, Mem. de
l'Acad., 1677; and described by Lacondamene, Brankroft, and Fermin. Its nature
has been recognized since 1757, by Sgravesand, Governor of Essequibo, according
to what Allamand points out. In 1755, Walsh completed the demonstration by
obtaining sparks. The organ has been described by J. Hunter, in vol. 65 of the
Philos. Trans.

§ It was Adanson -who made known, in 1751, the benumbing power of the
Silurus, and described it as resembling, in its effects, those of the heydon jar ; this
is the first example discovered of the analogy subsisting between this sort of pheno-
menon and electricity. The electric organ of the silurus, has been described by M.
Geoffroy, Ann. du Mus. vol. 1, p. 3, pi. 26, f. 4 ; and with more exactness by M.
Rudolphi, Mem. de l'Acad. of Berlin, 1824, p. 137, et seq. and pi. l to 4.

376 FISHES.

By means of these apparatuses, it has been thought that in conse-
quence of the different lamina being placed alternately with respect
to each other, there was generated something like a galvanic pile, and
that these animals could, at will, communicate to those who touched
or went near them, a true electric shock. This power is exhausted by
use, and the fish requires repose to be able to renew it. For those
fishes which have this endowment it is an efficient defensive weapon,
and it probably serves them also as an instrument for stunning, if not
for killing, the animals on which they prey*.

CHAPTER VIII.

Organs of Generation of Fishes.

The rays, squalus, and chimceras, which produce eggs of considerable
size, and frequently surrounded by very strong, horny shells, or which
bring forth live young, possess organs very much resembling those
of reptiles, for the production of the egg, and for its fecundation in
the inteiior, as well as for the time, long or short, during which the
egg or the foetus remains within the body of the mother.

In other fishes, however, even in those which bring forth their
offspring alive, and which must be fecundated before they spawn,
the organs for the two sexes are found to be extremely simple ; that
is to say, in the female, two membranous bags, the Avails of which,
being more or less multiplied by folds, contain in their thickness the
eggs, until the time arrives, when these eggs have obtained their
neeessnrv development, and it is by rupturing the membrane which
retains them that they escape ; now, in the male, the two sacs hold in
reserve, an abundance of fecundating fluid, which has been secreted
by the glandular tissue of its Avails.

The ovaries of the ordinary fishes are A r ariable both in their size
and in the number of lobes into which they may be divided. Some-
times one of them is completely obliterated, so that only a single
lobe is developed, and this is exemplified in the perch ; most com-
monly, however, there are two, Avhose form is oblong or oval, and
Avhose internal lamina forms a larger or smaller fold, according as
it maybe necessary for the eggs contained in it.

In the lophius there are two enormous bags with A'ery thin AA-alls,
which only carry the eggs in the thickness of one of their sides. But
these eggs, are very numerous in those sacs, and except at the period
Avhen they are laid, the small groups which they form, appear to the
naked eye, just like so many little papillary eminences, such as Ave
find in the intestines.

The viviparous osseous fishes, as the blennies, silures, anableps,
&c. differ in no respect Avhatever, as to the structure of their ovaries,
there being, in each, two bags formed by tAA'o tunics, in an interven-
ing space between which the eggs arise. In the progress of their
enlargement, the eggs protrude, and produce a SAvelling of the inter-
nal tunic, Avhich then moulds itself as it Avere upon them so that

* The experiments of Williamson especially prove this, see vol. 65 of Trans-
actions.

FISHES. 377

they are merely held in the ovaries by a pedicle. It is in this situ-
ation that they increase in size, and the germ, contained in them, is
developed, as that of an oviparous fish, is developed in water.

The two ovarian sacs generally unite in a common canal, which
has its cutlet behind the anus, and before the urinary orifice. ]t is
the same with those of the testicles.

Very frequently this outlet is only a simple hole, but has a pro-
truding portion in the form of a slip, which then exists in both sexes,
and always that it may be subservient to their congress ; for it is
observed especially in the genera which have many viparous species,
as the blennies, gobies, &c.

In certain fishes, as the eel and the lampreys, the ovaries divide
externally into a great number of lobes of different figures, kept
together by a common membrane, and containing eggs in their folds :
these are not sacs, but resemble heaps of piled leaflets.

They are without a canal, and the eggs can only escape by
falling into the abdomen, and having it by one of the two holes
pierced on the sides of the anus. This is what is known to exist,
particularly in the lampreys*, and what we are also obliged to
believe of the eel.

It has equally been advanced of the troutsf, of which it is true,
that the ovaries arc closed, on the side of the al dominal cavity, by the
peritoneum, that glues them to the region of the spine, and as they
are internally divided into transverse laminae, without there being
seen any outlet for the eggs, that which is taken for the oviduct, ap-
parently reduced to a simple ligament.

The number of eggs, in the fertile species, is sometimes frightful;
in more species than one, it exceeds a hundred thousand.

Now and then we find amongst theordinaryfishcs. individuals which
have, on one side an ovarv,and on the other a testicle, and which are
consequently true hermaphrodites; but it appears that certain species
naturally and constantly unite the organs of both sexes. Cavolina
asserts this of the acanthopterygians, the sea perch; and Sir Everard
Home, the eel and lampreys ; with regard to the last, M. M. Ma-
gendie and Desmoulins, think that the males are infinitely less nume-
rous than the females X ; but the solitary example which they produced
may be only a female void of eggs, or whose eggs by some cause,
were not developed. As to the sea-perch we have ascertained that
the posterior portion of their ovaries, is of a very different tissue
from the rest of their mass, and very like that of a milt. It remains to
be proved, whether this part really performs its functions.

The rays, the squalus, and the chimera have their organ, more
complicated. The testicles of the ray, placed at the top of the abdo-
men upon the stomach, (or behind it, supposing the fish to be erect

* Carus Lootomie, p. 637.

-f- Dumeril, upon Cyclestome fishes, p. 53.

X These anatomists have observed a lamprey, which, although it was caught at
the time when all the others were full of eggs, had, it is true, organs placed and
divided like ovaries, but whose leaflets contained no eggs, and only appeared to offer
a very fine tissue ; but by means of the microscope, globes similar to those which
contained the ovaries of the sturgeon in their faded state were perceived.

378 FISHES.

upon its tail,) are composed of lobes, but are harder and more rounded,
being divided into very small lobules, and of a part softer and more
like the milt of other fishes ; in the squalus, the testicles are bulky
cylinders, bent as they wind, and divided at the inferior surface into
an infinite number of vessels : from the top of these bodies proceed
two epididymes, each composed of the infinite folds of one single
vas differens, which enlarges and is less twisted as it proceeds
towards the anus ; after being puffed into a kind of seminal ve-
sicule, it opens, with that of the other side, into a conical prominence
of the superior surface of the rectum near the anus, which may pass
for a penis, or at least serve for the same use during congress.

The females of these same fishes have two ovaries, in which the
yolks of their eggs grow as in those of fowls; when they escape
they are seized by the two oviducts opening immediately above
the liver, and very near the diaphragm. These oviducts are mem-
branous and thin as far near as the middle of their length, where
each passes through a large kidney-shaped gland, formed of a peculiar
tissue, and which would seem to pour by means of thousands of pores
into the interior of the oviducts the substance proper for producing
the shell ; after having passed it, these canals descend and open at each
of the sides of a purse, situated behind or rather above the rectum,
and which forms a true womb : this purse is opened by a large
orifice at the extremity of the rectum, at its superior wall.

When the rays and squalus wish to fecundate themselves, they bring
their bellies to each other, and the males have at their ventral fins
appendages often very complicated in their structure, and which appear
to enable them to seize with more power the tail of their females.

The male sturgeon has its testicles suspended to the mesentery, and
is without a vas differens, but a tube rather large opens into the
abdomen, and receives there the semen, runs obliquely there towards
the base of the urethra, into which it terminates and empties itself,
as well as the urine, at an opening pierced behind the anus.

The eggs of the rays are covered with a shell of a fibrous tissue,
resembling horn, enveloped externally and doubled internally by a
thick and glutinous membrane; its form is flattened, square, with
four angles prolonged into points. These eggs are commonly called
sea-bass or sea-mice* ; they contain besides a yolk, an albuminous
and transparent mass. The egg of the squalus is oblong, of homo-
geneous horn, often yellow and transparent : sometimes its surface is
elevated by transverse projecting laminse ; its angles are prolonged into
long, folded, and horny cords.

It appears that this shell is formed when the egg passes the gland
which occupies the middle of the oviduct; it is formed by secretion
and by layers. When the egg is seized in the oviduct, it is sometimes
found still attached by its posterior part in the passage of the gland,
and this part is then soft and incomplete. I have reason to think
that the points of the egg in the rays and the cords of those of the
squalus, are drawn into the lateral furrows of that part of the oviduct

* See Tilesius, on the eggs of horned fishes, and on the reproduction of the rays
and squalus (in German ; Leipsic, 1804, in 4to.)

FISHES. 379

which passes through the gland. The egg of the chimceras is also
enveloped in a strong shell which is flat, horny, oval, and velvetty.

To all these shells of the chondropterygians, which are of a horny
nature, and not being liable to break like those of the eggs of birds,
nature has given an opening at one of their ends, from which the
young may remove the edges and get out when it has acquired a suf-
ficient development ; it has even been thought that when the eggs
are layed, this opening allows the water to aid in the respiration
of the foetus; but I have always found it closed by a membrane*.

In the viviparous squalus, whose young is hatched in an oviduct
or in the womb, such as the sharks, there is only a membranous
envelope round the foetus, in which is always recognized the tor-
tuous cords of the eggs of other species.

Certain species carry their eggs upon them during some time after
having layed them, and even some until they are hatched. Thus the
syngathnes have, behind the anus under the tail, a hole shut by two
scaly pieces, as by two lids, in which the eggs are deposited seriatim,
and where they remain until the young are hatchedf. The aspredes
carry them suspended to the skin of their belly.

But the greatest number of fishes scatter their eggs in the water,
agglutinated by a mucilage which enveloped them and attaches
them to stones, or aquatic plants, sometimes in groups, sometimes in
strings or in net-work according to their species. These eggs are
transparent globules, in the middle of which is seen the yolk. In
this state the male fecundates them by distributing the milt, and it is
in this distribution or fecundation of their eggs, that the fishes
exhibit the greatest activity : it is then that many come up the rivers,
that others travel in troops, and that others follow or pursue each
other, either in pairs, or in a much greater number.

The germ shows itself with more or less rapidity in the fecundated
egg, according as both the temperature, and the growth in general are
tardy : the young generally comes out before it is very large, by
piercing the envelope with its tailj.

In viviparous osseous fishes, such as the silures, the anableps, certain
blennies, &c, the egg grows even in the ovary, as much as is neces-
sary for the foetus, which is there developed ; and there are species
in which it becomes remarkably large. The young having been
completely hatched, breaks the egg and the membrane which had
retained it.

All these eggs are composed, besides the foetus, of a vitellus which
communicates by a pedicle with the intestine of the foetus, and
which diminishes, in proportion as the foetus grows, and of an external
membrane, which corresponds to the membrane of the egg-shell of
birds, and which contains the foetus and its vitellus.

I have not hitherto detected an amnios, at least unless we regard as

* See Home, Lessons of Comparative Anatomy, Lesson Thirtieth.

f It is this improper view which made Aristotle say (Hist. An., t. vi. p. 15),
that the eel (le syngnathe) is ruptured when the time of laying approaches, and
that it has under the belly a cleft which closes after laying, &c.

* On the fecundity of the eggs of fishes, see Carolini's Treatise of the Generation
of Fishes and Crabs (in Italian, Naples, 1787, and 17S4, in 4to. ; in German,
Berlin, 1792, in 8vo.)

380 FISHES

such the internal tunic of the general membrane ; but this amnios
embraces the vitellus as well as the foetus.

The vitellus has two tunics, both complete, and very fine. The
external is continued by its external lamina with the skin, and by its
interior with the peritoneum ; the internal, very vascular, iscontinued
with the membranes of the intestines and their peritoneal tunic; the
cavity opens directly and visibly into that of the intestines, and the
yolky matter there flows. There are some genera, as the squalus, in
which I have seen a lobe of interior vitellus always enclosed in the
abdomen of the foetus ; it is the same as an appendix of the intestine.
The arteries of this internal tunic come from the cceliac artery ; its
veins terminate at the vena porta?.

What distinguishes essentially the eggs of fishes, as well as those
of the batrachiansfrom the eggs of animals which, once hatched, respire
always by the lungs, is the entire absence of the allantois and the um-
bilical vessels, which do not appear to show themselves at any period.
There is, consequently , no placenta, and which are the vitellus, which is
always very much reduced in those foetuses of the shark ready to be born,
appears to me to adhere to the womb almost as fixedly as to a pla-
centa. Its cord is bristled with a quantity of vascular ramifications,
or of a species of long hair, very similar to that of the roots of trees.

Most frequently the abdomen is not swelled even by that interior
lobe of which we have just spoken ; but sometimes, as in the ana-
bleps, the vitellus has already disappeared to a consider able extent
externally, whilst the abdomen has still a swelling formed by a dilata-
tion of the skin of the fish, and in the interior of which may be seen,
with the intestines, the remnant of the pedicle of the vitellus. This
swelling, which already shows small scales scattered up and down
upon it, contract by degrees, and then the scales approach each other.

In whatever manner the fish has been brought into external life, it
is, from that moment committed to itself, and with the sole responsi-
bility of providing for its wants. The greatest number of them
perish, devoured by larger fishes, aquatic birds, or reptiles ; those
which survive, assume a growth more or less rapid according to their
species : in certain fishes this growth continues almost the whole of
their lives, and the life of some is very long. It is pretended that
that of the carp has been known to be more than a century ; but this
long life, which is attributed to the slight hardness of the bones, is
far from being granted to all the species.

CHAPTER IX.

General Recapitulation of the Organization of Fishes.

Such is the general idea, according to our view, of the nature and
organization of fishes, an idea which will not be complete until we
add a particular description of each of the species, in stating every
thing that is peculiar to each.

The general result then, according to us, from the whole of these
observations on their peculiar organizations, is, that fishes constitute

FISHES. 381

a class of animal? distinct from all others, and exclusively destined by
their conformation to live, move, and perform the acts which are
essential to its nature in the atery element. 1 his is their place in
the creation ; here are they to reside from their origin ; here they are
to remain until the destruction of the present order of things ; nor is
it by empty metaphysical speculations, or by very superficial approxi-
mations, that we are to estimate their class as a development, a per-
fect state, an ennobling, as it were, of that of the mollusca, or as a rude
first draught, or the foetal condition of vertebrated classes.

There is no doubt that the mollusca breathe as fishes do, by gills ;
have, in common with the latter, as with every other class of ver-
tebrated animals, a nervous system, a circulation, an intestinal canal,
and a liver ; and no one is better acquainted with this than myself,
who was the first to make known their anatomy, and their zoological
relations.

As animal life has received only a definite number of organs, it
must follow, as a matter of necessity, that some at least of these
organs should be common to many classes. But where else is there any
other resemblance ? Is the frame-work of these animals, is their entire
system of locomotion to be compared to the others in the smallest of
their parts ? And how could the organs even which are now common to
the mollusca and fishes be brought into the relations and connexions
which they have in the latter and in other vertebrated animals? By what
process of transition could nature have brought us from the one to the
other ? It is very easy, I am aware, by entirely forgetting all their
differences, to get up a definition which would comprehend only what
they have in common ; but this definition would always remain a
mere abstraction of the mind, a definition purely nominal, a vain com-
bination of words which could never be represented by any common
system, however divested of details we should try to conceive it
to be.

The same method is adopted to bring everything together, as may be
wished for, ultimately, as any two beings, however remote from each
other they might be, would always resemble each other in some point,
were it only by their existence.

The heart even in the mollusca, which have only one, is placed in a
direction contrary to that of fishes, and is attached to the junction
of the branchial veins and arteries. In many of them the limbs are in
the head ; in others the organs of generation are on the side ; fre-
quently those of respiration are above those of digestion, or disappear
completely over every portion of the dorsal surface. In a word, they
have branchiae ; so have the fishes, but there is the whole of the
affinity between them.

Hence it is observed, that as often as people wish to sally forth with
these formulae, which are purely verbal or metaphysical, they neces-
sarily wander into comparisons which have not the least possible title
to be admitted.

For one of these gentlemen the shells of bivalves represent the
opercula of fishes : for another the shield of the cuttle fish is a true
fibrous bone : a third will have it that the scales of the sturgeon, or the
spines of the diodons, would ultimately become an external skeleton.
Some others are disposed to seek analogies for them in the Crustacea ;

382 pishes.

the border of their thorax represent the opercula, and underneath
these borders virtual branchiae are found. But let us only go a little
further and every thing is reversed ; the medullary cord is towards the
belly, the heart towards the back, and this heart, like that of the mol-
lusca, receives blood from the branchiae instead of sending it to them.
Thus, in desperation for the cause, do some show an anxiety to find
the rays or spinous apophyses of the vertebrae in the feet of the Crus-
tacea ; but then this would be so far from an improvement towards
perfection, that it would be an obvious degeneration.

The approximation of fishes to the other vertebrated animals, is not
altogether so badly established as all that. Here, at least, those per-
ceptible relations commence in the number of the system of organs,
and in their mutual connections, but there is still a greater distance
from, — I do not say an identity, — but, even an appearance of a pro-
gressive process.

The head of fishes, and still better, their cranium, is divided into a
number of bones, very nearly resembling that which is observed in
birds and saurian reptiles, or in the lizard tribes. Now, since it hap-
pens that there is also some resemblance, though much less complete
between these bones and those of the foetus in the mammalia, and
again, as the circulation of reptiles bears some relation to that of the
foetus in the mammalia, the oviparous classes, but especially the rep-
tiles, are regarded as mammalia, arrested in the first stage of their de-
velopment. And then the comparison is pushed on to the fishes, whose
respiration and circulation, so far as the vessels are concerned, are
very nearly the same as in the tadpoles of frogs, and other batrachian
reptiles, and therefore it is concluded, that they represent the tad-
poles, and that consequently they are — in some way or another, foetuses
of the second degree, the foetuses of the fetus ! But when these rela-
tions, in the number of bones, would be as complete as they are few,
when we cease to remember, that precisely the reptiles most approxi-
mated to the fishes, the frog, and salamander, in all their states, have
considerably fewer bones in the cranium and the face, than fishes, and
even than the mammalia ; this method of reasoning would not be less
vicious, inasmuch as it would only take into consideration, as we
have just stated, merely one or two points, and it either puts all the
rest aside, or bringing them into the system by means of hypotheses,
which are utterly repugnant to common sense. Let us, however,
admit that the entire apparatuses are completely inverted, that the
bones belonging to one organ are inserted between those of another,
that the bones which, in one class, are situated at each other's sides,
ascend upon each other in the succeeding class ; that a combination,
which had been diminishing and approaching a more simple condi-
tion, like that of the small tympanal bones, suddenly resumes the
number of its components, and also an enormous size, in order to carry
on a function altogether of a different nature, that of protecting the
branchiae ; now, even when we have succeeded in obtaining all these
concessions, what is it that we have gained ? for, if an examination
be made, it will be found still that the number of pieces sought for,
are not forthcoming ; that these pieces are not in connection in the
place where they ought to be ; in a word, that there is nothing what-

FISHES. 383

ever in these pretended analogies which can be at all relied on, as
results of so very painful an investigation.

Let vis imagine the case of a spinous apophysis, which is detached
from a vertebra, and that half of it is lifted above the other ; let us
concede even that, under such circumstances, nature forms a different
model of the pieces, and makes this articulation so complicated as
that it has been called an annular joint, — shall we then have procured
for this the interspinousof a fish and a ray of a dorsal fin articulated with
it ? By no means, because the interspinous itself is a compound of
three pieces, and the ray, though it. were ever so simple and sharp, is
divided, still, in a vertical direction, into two equal portions. What
will the consequence then be, supposing we speak of a soft ray,
divided, also, into a great number of branches, and into hundreds of
small articulations ? So far as regards the six distinct muscles for
each ray, the evidence of their having no analogues is such, that no
one could venture to assign them to it, and the same result would
follow, although some may say so, if a trial were undertaken for com-
paring the muscles of the operculum with the muscles of the small
bones of the ear.

There is no question whatever as to the fact of the apparatus which
supports the branchiae having some relation, however remote it may
be, with that which supports the branchial tufts of the tadpoles, or
those of the sirenas and proteus. But this is a demonstration that
no analogues for the larynx and branchiae can exist in these animals
simultaneously with their branchial apparatus ; and can any one point
out the slightest grounds for comparing the muscles of this apparatus
in the two classes?

Had nature expressly provided muscles for the reptiles, and others
or the fishes, why did she not make bones for each ?

Some again affect to have found in the opercular pieces of the gills
of fishes, actually the bones of the ear in the mammalia; but not in
the shape of rudiments surely, for they are, on the other hand, enor-
mously developed. How, then, are we to reconcile this notion with
the fact that those of the reptiles which seem most to come near the class
of fishes, which in their first age are nearly true fishes ; that these, I
repeat, meaning the salamanders, and even the frogs, should be pre-
cisely the vertebrated animals in which the bones of the ear are
brought down to the very weakest and the most rudimentary condition ?

The conclusion, therefore, to which we must come at last is this, that
if there be any resemblances between the organs of fishes and those of
the other classes, it is only because there is a corresponding resem-
blance in their mutual functions. We are satisfied, then, that if we
can consider that these animals are mollusca raised to the rank of
nobles, as it were, or mollusca promoted one degree, or if they are
the foetuses of reptiles, reptiles in the first stage of development, it
can only be in an abstract and metaphysical sense that we understand
the proposition, and that even then we are bound to require that this
abstract expression should afford just ideas of their organization.
Let us, then, conclude, above all things, that they are neither links of
this imaginary chain of successive forms, rio one of which could have
been the germ of the others, since no one could have existed in an isolated

384 FISHES.

condition, nor lengths of this other chain, just as fanciful, of simul-
taneous and slightly varied forms; these chains have no existence
whatever, save only in the imagination of some naturalists, much greater
poets than observers, but that they belong to this real chain of co-
existing beings which are indispensable to one another and to the
whole, and which, by their reciprocal influence, sustain the order and
harmony of the universe; a chain, of which no link could have existed
without all the others, and the foldings of which, being incessantly
brought near each other or separated, comprehend the whole globe in
its windings.

Methodical distribution of Fishes into natural Families and higher

Divisions.

It will be obvious from all that precedes, that the distinctions be-
tween the external and internal peculiar organs which characterize
fishes, are not less numerous than they are striking. There are,
indeed, few classes of animals in which it is more easy to detect the
genera and natural families, and from them to arrange the species.
Under the slightest examination each is in a condition to exhibit the
relations which place it amongst the herrings for example, or the
anchovies, the megalopes, the elopes or chirocentres ; or to the eels,
the murcena, symbranchise, or the cecilia. Nor are we Less struck
with the affinity of the countless tribes of the cyprins, the silures,
salmons, perches, and those which resemble them. But to arrange
these genera and families in an orderly manner, it is essential that we
should fix on a small number of important characters, from which
some great divisions would result, and these, without any interruption
of natural relations, to be sufficiently exact so that no doubt could be
allowed to exist as to the position of each fish in the classification.
And this is the point to which we have not yet come in a sufficiently
detailed manner.

To say the truth, the numerous peculiar characters of the chondrop-
terygians or fishes with a true cartilaginous skeleton, or, to speak still
more accurately, fishes with the granulated periosteum, were always too
prominent not to have been properly estimated by every methodical
mind. Every ichthyologist, therefore, has constituted these fishes
into a separate order, but almost every one of them has violated the
just division which they made in blending with it some fishes which
had no other resemblance to them than in the softness of their skeleton.

Still these latter fishes should not be indiscriminately excluded with
the crowd : there are some, such as lophius, and the lump-fish, which,
with this softness, almost differ in nothing from the ordinary fishes,
and cannot be separated from them ; but there are, also, others with
peculiar characters in their integuments, teeth, and especially in the
disposition of their skeleton and head. The tetrodons, diodons,
coffres, and even the balistes, are of this number. The syngnathes
have also in their branchia? distinctive characters of very great import-
ance. The remarkable external aspect of these genera has required very
much the attention of naturalists in separating them from others ; but
no great success has been attained in the fixing of their characters.

Artedi, for example, not only united them to the lophius and the lump-
fish in the order of branchiostegal fishes, but he established the whole

FISHES. 385

of this order on a false hypothesis, namely, that these fishes had no
rays to their branchial membrane* : whilst every single one was really
furnished with them ; and Artedi himself even actually described them
in the lump-fishf.

Linnaeus, after having placed the chondropterygians in the reptiles,
in his tenth edition, to which, by a combination, also without any
foundation, he joined lophius ; and, after having placed with the
branchiostegal fishes of Artedi, the mormyri and syngnathes, and
given them all the character of deficiency, not merely of rays in the
gills, but also of opercula, which, so far at least as many are concerned,
is at variance with the slightest observation, he united, in his twelfth
edition, the chondropterygians and the branchiostegal fishes in a single
order of reptiles (amphibia nantes) on a character still more strongly
opposed to nature, as they possessed, at the same time, gills and
lungs.

Gmelin restored the two orders of Artedi, still attributing to the
branchiostegals the absence of the rays. Gouan characterizes them
solely by incomplete branchiae ; an expression very vague and ex-
ceedingly debateable in almost all genera. Pennant unites them to
the chondropterygians by the name of cartilaginous, a denomination
adopted by Lacepede, and of which we have already seen the impro-
priety. In fact, it is not admissible, in either a positive or negative
sense. Nobody can say, with any justice, that the skeleton of balistes is
cartilaginous ; and, in the number of fishes which Pennant and his
followers allow amongst the osseous fishes, there are some which, as
leptocephalus, have scarcely the appearance of a skeleton.

I felt it necessary to occupy myself in the first place with separating
from these fishes, which are in some respect anomalous, those which
are so remote from the type of ordinary fishes as deserve to be so
removed, and then to find out their exact characters so as to clearly
explain them in words.

This examination satisfied me that it was wrong to separate from the
whole mass of ordinary fishes, the lophius, lump-fishes, centurus,
mormynj, and macrorhynchi, which differed in no essential point from
ordinary fishes ; but I have found that the syngnathes, whose form
and economy are so singular, can be distinguished by their branchiae
in the shape of tufts concealed beneath an operculum, which allows for
the exit of the water only, by a small opening in the nucha, and that the
diodons, tetrodons, coffres, and balistes, independently of the incom-
pleteness of their skeleton, and the singularity of their form, have the
jaws, and in general, the whole skeleton of the head, a little different
from the common fishes ; that their upper jaw and their palatine bones
are articulated to each other, and with the vomer by immoveable
sutures, which leave them full freedom to open or close the mouth,

* It is thus, at least, that the definition given of it is explained, — Gen. pise,
titul. vers. : branchiis osseis, ossibus destitutis, etp. 85, branchiostegi in branchiis
nulla ossicnla gerunt.

■f Gen. pise. p. 62, membrana branchiostega ossicula sex gracilia continet.

X The macroihynsus of Lacepede or the silvery sygnathe of Bonneterre, is noth'n r
more than a lepidopus imperfectly described by Osbeck.

VOL. II. C a

38(5 FISHES.

and it is to this circumstance, in all probability, that we must refer,
also, the slight motion that is left to their branchial apparatus by the
skin that narrowly covers it, and which has been the impediment that
prevented many naturalists from seeing it, as it was furnished with
opercula and rays, as all other fishes.

But these families, once separated, nine-tenths of the fishes remain,
amongst which the leading distinction that offers itself in fishes with
soft fins, or whose rays are branched and articulated, and fishes with
spinous fins, a portion of the rays of which are pointed small bones,
without branches or articulations, or, as Artedi cnlled them, the
branches of malacopterygians and acanthopterygian fishes. Unfortu-
nately this division is still very general, and to make any application of
it we are forced to abstract the first rays of the dorsal, or of the
pectorals in certain cyprins and silures, in which those rays present
strong and solid spines. It is true that these spines are formed of two
kinds by the agglutination of a multitude of small articulations, of
which the vestiges may be detected in them.

There are still some exceptions in respect of certain fishes of the
family of lobrus, and for others of that of the blennies, the spines of
which are so small or so weak, or so few, that they do not seem to
have any; but, with the exception of those little irregularities, were
this division to be brought out not very far, at least it would not
separate any fishes which nature had brought together.

J»ut, as much cannot be said of the distinctions sought to be esta-
blished by naturalists on other principles, nor of the subdivisions
which they, who have adopted the great division according to the
Spines, have endeavoured to introduce into the two branches.

Thus, the general form of the body and the absence of ventrals used
by Ray, before the character deduced from the spines obliged him to
place together the eel, and lote, and goby, the syngnathes, sword fish,
and mow fish.

Linnaeus was the first, in his tenth edition, to neglect the distinction
which was established by the spines. He thought of dividing the
ordinary fishes into apodes, jugular, thoracic and abdominal, accord-
ing as they want the ventrals, or that there are attached before the
pectoral fins or under them, or more backwards, he saw himself
obliged to approach the sword fish, the trichiures, and the eel, and
gynnotus, placing the cods between the vives and blennies, the plcu-
rowcles between zeus and the ehectodons, and the teuthis or ampha-
canthes between the silurus and lori caria.

Gouan, in combining these two methods, and dividing each into
the branches of Artedi, according to the four orders of Linna?us,
avoided some approximations that would have been very unnatural,
and yet he placed the sword fish and the trichumes very far from the
scombrcs : he committed positive errors, also, in making the don-
zcllc and silurus, acanthopterygians and stromateus a malacoptcry-
gian.

M. de Lacepede resumes the characters of Pennant, and divides
the fishes into the osseous and the cartilaginous; each of these classes
he subdivides without respect to the fins, and with regard to the
absence or presence, either of the operculum or of the branchistegal

KJSHKS. 387

membrane, oi of both ; in fine, the last subdivisions are taken from
the relative position of the ventral or pectoral fins; a very regular
distribution, and which gives thirty-two orders conceived d>priori t but

of which fifteen have not been filled up on account of not having
found in nature (ishes which would be related to it, and of which
several would appear to have been added from error, which has caused
it to be believed that the operculum or the membrane was wanted to
fishes which really possessed them, such as the mormyri, the murcnas
and the symbranches.

This method, beside the misplacement of the lophius and the lump-
fishes, and the continual mixture of the malacopterygiana with the
acanthopterygians, winch had already been the ease in that of Lin-
naeus, would have the disadvantage of placing the murena and syn-
branehia, at a great distance from the eels, which resemble them bo
much; if in relation to this particularity of its distribution, it was not
founded, as we have just said, ou characters of which have no real
existence. Nevertheless, l\l. Dmncril lias preserved these orders ill
his method, which i.s in reality that of M. de Lacepede, subdivided
after the form of the bodies and other details, in order to bring them
as near as it was possible to the natural families; but the interposition
of the characters taken from the ventral fins prevent us from arriving
at this conclusion.

We see, also, the lophius with the balistee and the chimera, the cod
with vives and the star-gazers. Another family unites the cecilias,
mdnopterieS, and the OphisureS, which are eels; the notopteres, which
are herrings; the trichiures, which resemble the scombres, &c.

The same causes have led M. M. Risso and Hafinesque to similar
results in the combinations which they have endeavoured to make of
the methods of Pennant and de Lacepede, either between them, or
with the natural families.

The plates which we have given in the history of Icthyology, may
be consulted for their distribution.

I cannot see that the attempts of this kind that have been recently
made in Germany, have been more fortunate. Thus, M. GfoldfuSB, by
making no other changes in the division of Linnaeus, than uniting
the jugulars with the thoracics, and the hranchiosteges with thechon-
dropterygians, has deprived himself of all means of classing these
families in the order of their affinities. The eyclopteres and the
lophii can never be put, as he places them, between the lampreys and
the sharks ; nor can the trichiure be reasonably placed, as he hail n
with the eels, and very far from the lipidopus, which it resembles
almost in every respect; the gnathoboluS, which is a herring, can
never remain with the stromateus, which is almost a ehetodon.

The author himself was obliged to depart from his rule with regard

to the SWOrd-fish, which he leaves near the scombres, amongst the

subbracchians, although assuredly it is an apode.

M. Oken found it more easy to arrange his families, he gave to his
grand orders his fish fishes, his reptile fishes, his bird li,dn
mammal fishes; only characters almost indeterminate, and never
theless, from having made use of the position of the ventrala in his

C -

388 FISHES.

subdivisions, we see him placing the herrings between the mullets
and the amphacanthes (buro), the cods near the gasterestes, the
sword-fish near the genus anarrhicus, and leaving the rhinchobdelles
and the hog mares, in the same family with the eels.

It was only after nearly forty years of study on fishes, not from
authors, but on the fishes themselves, on their skeletons, on their vis-
cera, after having dissected several hundred species, that I became
convinced of the necessity of never mixing any acanthopterygians
with fishes of other families; that 1 learned that the acanthoptery-
gians, which form three-fourths of all the known fishes, are also the
type with which nature has taken most pains, and which it has main-
tained in the greatest resemblance with itself, through all the varia-
tions of detail which it has caused it to undergo.

All the other characters would only be made use of as inferior to
this one, and could not be allowed to supersede it ; but the extreme
constancy of the general, and the predominating influence of the re-
gulating character, has rendered it very difficult to give to fishes, in
which it exists, precise and sensible applications of subordinate cha-
racters : thus, the different families of the acanthopterygians pass so
insensibly into each other, that we cannot determine where one
begins or another ends.

The family of pearches, for instance, which is essentially distin-
guished by its palatine teeth from that of the sciences, comprises a
considerable group, perfectly natural in all other respects, one part
of which possesses those teeth, whilst another is deprived of them.

The same thing occurs in the family otherwise well characterized,
of the cuirass-jawed : the greatest part of these genera is allied to
the pearches ; the other to the scirenas as far as regards the palatine
teeth.

There are some passages which are sensible from a part of the
genera of the family of the scienes, to those of the chetodons, by the
scales which cover, more or less, their vertical fins; and notwithstand-
ing we are on the other hand obliged to bring together the family of
the spares of several genera of scisenes, which have no trace of those
same scales.

Transitions no less marked, unite certain genera of spares, such as
the picarels and the gerres, with other genera, such as the equalus,
which cannot be widely separated from the zeus, which, in their
turn, lead to the family of the scombres, and this last passes by
shades so fine to those fishes in form of ribands, called teenoides,
that it is almost impossible to say where the limit should be
placed to separate them from each other.

It is therefore the duty of naturalists desirous of making known
beings according to their true relations, to acknowledge that the
acanthopterygian fishes, which form the old genera of pearches, the
cepola, down to and comprising the scisenas, sparus, chcetodons,
zeus, and scombers, and other fishes in the form of ribbands,
and which form, notwithstanding the innumerable quantity of
their species, compose but one natural family, in which we
can distinguish shades, perceive commencements of groups, and

FISHES. 389

slight separations, but where it is impossible to trace circumscriptions
perfectly denned, and which did not enter at any point into each
other.

But this is not exactly the case with the lophii, the batrachus, the
gobies, the blennies, and especially the labrus ; their characters are
sufficiently precise, and though partly anatomical, can be easily
assigned and appreciated. The small opening of the branchiae in the
first of these groups; its pectoral fins, the base of which is prolonged in
the form of an arm ; the pectorals alike joined to the ventrals and
to three rays of the second ; the flexible rays of the back of the
third and fourth ; the fleshy lips of the fifth ; the total absence of
caecal appendices, in almost all those genera, separate them from
the other acanthopterygians ; and this last character will bring them
near even the silures and cyprins, the families of which begin the
order of the malacopterygians, which, on their part, as we have
already observed, resemble the acanthopterygians in the spinous form
of some of their rays.

The families of the malacopterygians present more differences, and
traits more easy to be recognised; there are many of them as natural
as they fixed in their limits, so strongly does each, in clearly separat-
ing from the other, preserve internally a great resemblance of details.
This fixity is so remarkable, that most of the natural families which
we shall establish in this part of the class, have been already observed
by Artedi, and presented under the name of genera. His silures,
cyprins, salmons, eels, and pikes may remain together ; there is even
no inconvenience from distributing them according to the presence and
position of the ventrals ; for this character, though slight, does not
vary in any of them : I have merely remarked, that it impossible to
retain the distinction of jugulars, thoracics, and abdominals, in the
terms in which it is established by Linnaeus*. It indeed matters
little, whether the ventral presents itself a little before or behind the
pectoral, or exactly under it ; but the important circumstance, and
one which depends upon the very structure of the fish, is to know if
the pelvis is attached to the bones of the shoulder, or if it be but
merely suspended in the flesh of the belly. I have, therefore, devised
the word subbrachian, to designate fishes of the first category, what-
ever be the point at which their ventrals appear, which merely depends
on the greater or lesser length of the bones of the pelvis ; and I have
left the name of abdominals to those of the second. The apodes are
naturally the malacopterygians without ventrals.

We shall, therefore, commence the history of fishes with the
acanthopterygians, which, in reality, constitute almost but one im-
mense family. After these, we shall place the different families of
malacopterygians in the order in which they seem to us to come
nearest to to the acanthopterygians ; but I do not wish to have it
supposed that they draw nigh them, only on one line, and in only
one series.

If the abdominal malacopterygians may be thus ranked, and even

* Those who have united the thoracics and jugulars, have only done so from my
Animal Kingdom.

390 PISHES.

commencing by those which have some spinous rays, neither the
apodes nor subbrachians, can- be classed in their suite.

The cods, for instance, come as near as any abdominal to certain
acanthopterygians, and there would be no reason for placing them
after the abdominals, if it were to mark their rank in nature. If we speak
of them only in their suite, it is because the facts exposed in a book
can only find a place'after each other.

The same observation will apply to other fishes ; to those whose
superior jaw is fixed ; to those whose branchiae are in tufts ; and
particularly to the grand and important family of the chondroptery-
gians, by which we shall finish the history.

It is in the last, particularly, that the vanity of those systems is
conspicuous, which tend to class beings on a single line. Many of
these genera, the rays and sharks for instance, are raised far above the
common of fishes, both by the complication of some of their organs of
sense, as by that of their organs of generation, which, in some of their
parts, are more developed even than they are in birds ; and other
genera, at which we arrive, by evident transitions, the lampreys, and
the ammocetes, on the other hand, are so simplified, that some
anatomists have felt authorised to regard them as the passage from
fishes to articulated worms ; but certainly, the ammocetes, at least,
have no skeleton, and that all their muscular apparatus has only
tendinous or membranous supports.

Let it not therefore be imagined, if we put a genus or a family
before another, that we consider them exactly as more perfect or
superior to that other in the system of beings. He, alone, could
entertain such a pretension, who was pursuing the chimerical project
of classing beings on a single line, and such a project we have long
since renounced. The more we advanced in the study of nature, the
more we were convinced that this idea was one of the most erroneous
that ever had obtained in natural history, the more we discovered the
necessity of studying each being, each group of beings in itself, and
in the part which it plays by its properties and organization, not to
make abstraction of any of its relations, or any of the links which
connect it either to its neighbouring beings, or those which are far
removed from it.

Once placed in this point of view, the difficulties vanish, every thing
arranges itself spontaneously for the naturalist. Our systematic
methods, only taken in the nearest points of relation ; they will only
place one being between two others, and they are incessantly at fault ;
the true method see3 each creature in the midst of all others ; it shows
all the irradiations by which it is connected more or less closely in
this immense net-work, which constitutes organized nature ; and
it is this method alone that gives us those lofty and true ideas
worthy at once of nature and of God ; but ten and twenty would often
be insufficient to express these innumerable relations.

We warn our reader, therefore, once for all, that it is in our
descriptions themselves that he must look for the idea he should form
of the degrees of organization, and by no means in the place which
we shall have to assign to species ; and, nevertheless, we are far
from thinking that relations do not exist; that no classification is

FISHES.

391

possible; and that unions and definitions of species may not be
formed.

Buffon was perfectly correct, when he stated that absolute charac-
ters, and well-defined separations between ganus do not always exist,
that there is no means without constraint of alienating them into our
methodical tables ; but this great man went too far, when he rejected
all resemblances, and refused all co-ordination of organization
deduced from such resemblances.

These resemblances are so striking, and our mind is so strongly
biassed by them, that even the people have, at all times, had their
genera as well as the naturalists.

We shall, therefore, bring together what nature has stamped with
resemblances, without forcing into our groups the beings which
nature has not placed amongst them ; not scrupling, after demon-
strating, for instance, all the species which may be classed under one
well-defined genus, all the genera of which it is possible to compose
a well circumscribed family, to leave out one or more isolated species,
one or more genera, which are not naturally connected with the
others ; preferring to acknowledge frankly these sorts of irregulari-
ties, if they can be sb 'called, to leading into error, by leaving those
anomalous species and genera in series, the characters of which
would not embrace them.

Our list of fishes, formed On those principles, may be distributed
into families nearly in the manner shown in the following table.
Not being able to assign to each family an univocal and exclusive
character, we confine ourselves for the present to indicating them by
names derived from the genus the most known in each, that which
may be regarded as the type, and from which it is most easy to form
an idea of it.

At the head of each family will be found a more extensive enume-
ration of the characters and combinations according to which we
subdivide it, and which lead us to the different genera composing it.

FISHES.

OSSEOUS.

With branchice in the form of combs or lamince,

WITH THE UPPER JAW FREE.
ACANTHOPTERYGIANS.

Perches,

Polynemes,

Mullets,

Mailed cheeks,

Sciaenoids,

Sparoids,

Chetodons,

Scomberoids,

Sur Mullets,

Labyrinth Gilled,

Lophioides,

Gobioides,

Labroides.

392 FISHES.

MALACOPTERYGIANS.
Abdominal.

Cyprinoides,
Siluroides,
Salmonides,
Clupeoides,
Lucioides.
SUBBRACHIANS.

Gadoides,
Pleuronectes,
Discoboles.
APODES.

Murenoides.
With superior jaw fixed.

Sclerodermes,
Gymnodontes.
Branchiee in the form of tufts.
Lophobranchiae .
CHONDROPTERYGIANS, or Cartilaginous.
Stunonians,
Plagiostomes,
Cyclostomes.

393

APPENDIX.

ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORS
ON ICHTHYOLOGY.

The chapter on this subject, in Cuvier's Natural History of Fishes, forms
one of the most interesting in the whole of our great Author's works,
and we feel ourselves bound to present a slight sketch of his Cata-
logue of the men who, from the earliest times made fishes the subject
of their studies. We had intended to have arranged the following
list on an alphabetical plan, but as that would destroy the regular
chronological order, which is one of the most useful of its characters,
as we found in going through it, we are obliged to take it as we
find it.

The name of Aristotle first occurs in the work ; and the wonderful
sagacity displayed by that man was never before put forth in such an
elaborate manner as it is by Cuvier. The reader, however, is only
acquainted by this work with what Aristotle did in the anatomy of
fishes, so that we feel it necessary, in order to do the Stagyrite justice,
to supply some notion of what he did in the other classes of Ani-
mated Nature. The whole of the scientific circles of Europe have
been put into the utmost astonishment by the recent proof of the fact,
that the descriptions of the Animal Kingdom now given by Cuvier,
after the most laborious investigation of animals that was ever made
by any one man, are actually identical with the descriptions of Aristotle,
as we read them now in his works. We, in common with the public,
have been favoured by Professor Kidd, of the University of Oxford,
with a most exact translation of Aristotle's descriptions, and we shall
give some specimens of the two authors upon the grand subjects of
the Animal Kingdom, written at an interval which embraces Two
thousand two hundred and eighteen years ! !

We beg to premise, that the translations from the Greek of Aris-
totle as well as of Cuvier, are the execution of that able naturalist.
It may also be proper to state, that what is given from Aristotle on
the subject of Fishes, was not translated by Dr. Kidd ; it was done by
ourselves.

The article, then, which is given on Aristotle, is the longest of any,
but it is by far the most useful. Cuvier only considers him as an
Ichthyologist ; but we have ventured to extend the account of his
labours.

We commence, then, with the list as given by Cuvier, and the only
addition made by us is in the account of Aristotle.

Aristotle. — The history of Aristotle is generally pretty well known ;
we shall therefore only here recall the principal events of it.

394 APPENDIX.

He was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, 384 years before Christ ; his
father, whose name was Nicomachus, was physician to Amyntas, father
to Philip, and belonged to a branch of the Asclepiades. He at first
studied medicine under his father. At the age of eighteen, being left an
orphan, he went to Athens, where he subsisted by the sale of drugs,
which obtained for him in that city the name of pharmacopolist. He
attended the lectures of Plato, and he himself opened a school some time
before the death of his master. Philip appointed him in 356 before
Christ, to be the preceptor of his son Alexander; and war being declared
between Philip and Athens, in 346, A. C. he quitted that city, and took
refuge at the court of Hermias, prince of Atarna, in Mycium. This prince
having been betrayed and murdered by the Persians, Aristotle married
his sister. Alexander was confided to his care at the age of thirteen, in
345, A. C. It is thought that he followed his pupil in his expedition as
far as Egypt. In 331, A. C. he returned to Athens, and re-opened his
school in Lycia. After the death of Alexander, which took place in 324,
A C, the demagogues, seconded by the sophists and platonics, accused
him of impiety ; and, to spare the Athenians a second attack against
philosophy, he retired with Iris disciples into Eubea, where he died in
322, A. C, aged sixty-three.

Here Cuvier makes a quotation from Aristotle on the fishes, which he
(Cuvier) considers to be a perfect master-piece. We shall translate it,
merely informing the reader that he is reading only a description of what
Cuvier found in several places in Aristotle's works.

The neck is wanted; their tail is continued with the body, except in the
rays, where it is long and thin : they have neither hands, feet, scrotum,
virile member, nor mammilla (female breast) ; they ought to be distin-
guished from marine animals, which produce little ones alive, such as
the Dolphin, whose sucking breasts are concealed near the sinuses of
the vulva.

The special character of true fishes consists in their gills and fins : the
majority of them have four fins; but those of an elongated form, as the
eels, have only two. Some, as the murena, are entirely without them.
The rays swim with the whole of their body enlarged. The gills are
sometimes furnished with an operculum, sometimes they are without it ;
and this is the case in cartilaginous fishes : in some they are simple, in
others double. It is remarkable that the sword-fish has eight gills on
each side ; each of these gills is divided into two combs. No fish has
either hair or feathers; the greater part are covered with scales, some
with a rough ot smooth skin. Their tongue is hard, frequently armed
with teeth ; sometimes so adherent, that they appear to be mantled, and
this is on account of their being obliged to swallow rapidly ; it is for
the same reason that their teeth are generally crooked.

Their eyes want eyelids. We cannot see either their ears or nostrils,
for what is in the place of the nostrils is only a blind cavity. They have
nevertheless the faculty of taste, smell, and hearing; as the author proves
from numerous experiments. All of them have blood: all the scaly
ones have eggs ; but the cartilaginous, if we except the lophius, bring
forth living spawn. They have all a heart, a liver, and a gall bladder ;
and in this respect he enters into very particular and true details upon
the biliary vesicules of some fishes, amongst which is the- amnia ; but
he is mistaken in refusing kidnies and a bladder to fishes.

Their intestines vary very much; there are some, such as the mullets,
which have a fleshy gizzard like birds; others have scarcely any apparent
stomach. Blind appendices adhere near to their stomach, they are very
numerous in some, but much less so in others. There are even some
which are entirely without them, as in the greater pail of the cartilaginous
fishes.

APPENDIX. 395

Along the spine are two organs which supply the place of testicles,
of which the excretory canals terminate at the anus, and which become
very large during the time of spawn.

Their scales remain as long as their lives. Being without lungs they
have no voice, properly speaking, and nevertheless there are several
(which he names) which make sounds and a kind of croaking. They
are subject to sleep the same as other animals. In greater part of the
species, the females are larger than the males. In the rays and the
squalus, the male is distinguished by appendices on each side of the anus.

Not only had Aristotle made numerous observations, from which he
deduced such exact rules ; but he has also represented by plates these
different conformations.

As to the species, Aristotle knew and named one hundred and seventeen,
and he enters upon their manner of living, their journies, their friendships
and hatreds, the stratagems they employ, their amours, the time of spawn,
of their laying and fecundity, the manner of catching them, and the time
when their flesh is best.

Cuvier observes that nothing at all is done in modern times to compare
with this, and it is evident, that to have collected such an enormous mass
as he did, of the most curious facts that are upon record.

There is another remarkable fact which is connected with our time,
and happens to be one of the profoundest interest, namely, that he
(Aristotle) implicitly believed in the truth of spontaneous generation.
We can only say that this is a doctrine which has been treated with con-
tempt for the last two thousand years, and yet the belief of it seems
now to be very nearly justified by the extensive labours of European
naturalists.

We now proceed to give the passages contributed by Professor Dr. Kidd.
GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY.

Aristotle. Cuvier, torn. I.

In some animals there is a mutual Every organized body has its pe-
resemblance in all their parts ; as culiar form ; not only generally and
the eye of any one man resembles exteriorly, but even in the detail of
the eye of every other man: and it the structure of each of its parts;
is the same with respect to the con- and all the individuals which agree
stituent parts of the horse, or of any in the detail of their structure are of
other animals which are said to be the same species,
of the same species : for in indivi-
duals of the same species each part
resembles its correspondent part as
much as the whole resembles the
whole.

All animals have certain common The leading character of animals
organs, by means of which they lay is derived from the existence of a re-
hold of, and into others of which servoir for their food, that is, an in
they convey, their food. The organ testinal canal, the organization of
by which they lay hold of their food which varies according to circum-
is called the mouth; that, into which stances,
they convey it, is the stomach : but
the other parts are called by various
names. The form and relative pro-
portions, structure, and position of
these parts, are the same in the same
species, but vary in different species
of animals.

396

APPENDIX.

Aristotle.

In addition to the mouth and sto-
mach, most animals have other com-
mon parts by which they exclude the
refuse of their food : but in some
animals these parts are wanting.

There are fibres of a peculiar kind
in the blood; by the removal of
which, that fluid is prevented from
coagulating: but if they are not
removed, it does coagulate. And
through defect of these fibres the
blood of the deer and of some other
animals does not coagulate*.

The particular senses are five in
number, sight, hearing, smell, taste,
and touch. Of these the sense of
touch is alone common to all ani-
mals; and is so generally diffused
over the whole body, that it is not
said to reside in any specific part.
All animals do not possess all the
senses; some possess only a part of
them. But no animal is without the
fifth sense, that of touch.

All animals which draw in and
breathe out the air have lungs.
Those animals which employ water,
analogolously to air, in respiration,
have gills.

Animals in general appear to have
a certain degree of intellectual
power, and some are capable of in-
struction. Some animals are cau-
tious; some are cunning. Man alone
is capable of meditation and reflec-
tion. Many animals possess me-
mory : no animal but man is capable
of recollection.

In the greater number of animals
there are traces of the moral affec-
tions of man; for some are mild,
and some are fierce. And the same
thing may be very readily discerned
in children, for in them we may per-
ceive the germs of their future
habits ; and indeed the dispositions

Cuvier, torn. I.
The lowest animals have no other
outlet for the refuse of their food,
than that by which they admit the
food itself.

The blood contains a principle
called Jibrine; which, within a short
time after the blood has been with-
drawn from the body, manifests it-
self in the form of membranes or
filaments.

The most general external sense is
that of touch ; its seat is the surface
of the whole body. Many animals
are without the sense of hearing, and
of smell, and of sight. Some have
none of the senses except that of
touch, which is never wanting.

When the element subservient to
the process of respiration is the air,
the organ of respiration is the lungs :
when water, the gills.

Even the most perfect animals are
infinitely inferior to man in the in-
tellectual faculties; although it is
certain that their intelligence per-
forms similar operations to those of
the human mind : and they are ca-
pable of instruction. Man has the
faculty of associating his general
ideas with particular images of a
more or less arbitrary character, but
easily imprinted in his memory,
which serve to recall to him the
general ideas which they repre-
sent.

Animals are susceptible of emu-
lation, and jealousy, &c. In sliort,
we may observe in the higher ani-
mals a certain degree of the reason-
ing faculty, which appears nearly
the same with that of infants before
they have acquired the power of
speech.

* It is deserving of notice, that the animals whose blood is said not to coagulate,
are such as are usually killed in hunting ; and it is understood by physiologists in
general, that excessive exercise and violent mental emotions, both which occur in
hunted animals, prevent the blood from coagulating.

APPENDIX.

397

Aristotle.
of human beings at that early period
of life do not differ from those of
the inferior animals.

As man possesses contrivance, and
wisdom, and comprehension ; so
some animals possess a certain na-
tural power, which, -though not the
same as, in some respects resembles,
those faculties.

All animals which have red blood,
have a spine or backbone : but the
other parts of the bony system are
wanting in some species, and present
in others. The spine is the base or
origin of the bony system : it is com-
posed of vertebrae, which are all per-
forated ; and extends from the head
to the hips : and the cranium is a
continuation of its upper or anterior
extremity.

Red-blooded animals when in their
perfect state have either no extre-
mities, or they have one or two pair.
Those animals which have more
than two pair are not red-blooded.

In some animals the correspond-
ing limbs are different in form, but
analogous in use. Thus the ante-
rior extremities of birds are neither
hands nor feet, butwings. Fish have
no limbs, but appendages, called fins,
commonly four in number, some-
times two.

The red-blooded animals are man,
viviparous and oviparous quadru-
peds, birds, fish, cetaceous animals,
and snakes, &c.

Animals of the largest size are
found among those which are red-
blooded. All animals which have
colourless blood are smaller in size
than those which have red blood ;
with the exception of a few marine
animals, as some of the sepia?.

All red-blooded animals have the
five senses.

Cuvier, torn. I.

In a great number of animals there
exists a faculty, different from in-
telligence, which is called instinct.

The first general division of ani-
mals includes all those which have
a spine or backbone consisting of
separate portions called vertebras.
The animals of this division are
called vertebrated. They have all
of them red blood: their body is com-
posed of a head, trunk, and members:
the spine, which is composed of ver-
tebrae, having each an annular per-
foration, andmoveable on each other,
commences at its upper or anterior
extremity from the head; the lower
or posterior extremity usually ter-
minating in a tail.

Their extremities never exceed
two pair in number : sometimes one
pair is wanting, sometimes both.

The form of the extremities varies
according to the uses to which they
are to be applied; the anterior ex-
tremities being hands, or feet, or
wings, or fins ; the posterior, feet or
fins.

The division of vertebrated ani-
mals includes man, the mammalia
consisting of viviparous quadrupeds
and the cetacea, birds, reptiles of all
kinds, many of which, though ovi-
parous, are quadrupeds, and fish.

Vertebrated animals, all of which
have red blood, attain to a much
larger size than those whose blood
is colourless.

Vertebrated animals have always
two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the
integuments of the tongue and those
of the whole body.

398

APPKNDIX,

MAMMALIA.

Aristotle.

No animal which is not viviparous
has breasts ; and even of viviparous
animals those only have them which
produce their young alive at once,
without the intervention of an egg.

The milk is not, as the blood is,
a fluid which animals possess from
their birth, but a subsequent secre-
tion; and is contained in the breasts.
And all those animals have breasts
which are essentially or directly vi-
viparous ; as man, and such qua-
drupeds as are covered with hair;
and also cetaceous animals, as the
dolphin, the seal, and the whale.

Cuvier, torn. I.

The animals of the class mammalia
are essentially viviparous; inasmuch
as a direct communication is estab-
lished between the embryo and the
parent immediately after conception.

The new born offspring is nourish-
ed for a time by milk, which is a spe-
cial and temporary secretion from the
mammfe ; organs, so exclusively pe-
culiar to this class, as to have deter-
mined the distinctive appellation
mammalia. This class includes all
the common viviparous quadrupeds ;
together with the seal, and the dol-
phin, and other cetacea.

MAN.

All animals which have limbs
resembling those of man, have their
legs, and thighs and hips, sparingly
covered with flesh ; whereas in man
these parts are more fleshy than
any other.

Of all animals man has, in pro-
portion to his size, the largest brain ;
and the smallest interval between
his eyes ; and the most delicate
sense of touch and of taste.

No animal but man has its breasts
in the front of the chest; the ele-
phant, like the human female, has
two breasts, but they are placed on
the side.

No animal but man has the faculty
of articulate speech ; which consists
of vowels pronounced by means of
the larynx, and of consonants formed
by the tongue and lips : the dolphin,
therefore, which has a voice in con-
sequence of its possessing lungs, and
a larynx, cannot articulate, because
its tongue is not readily moveable,
and it has no lips.

The muscles which extend the
foot and thigh of man are more
powerful than those of any other
animal : and hence the calf of the
leg is particularly prominent. The
part called the pelvis, situate be-
tween the hips, is altogether propor-
tionally larger in man than in any
other animal.

No quadruped has so large a
brain as man. His eyes are placed
as to be necessarily directed only
forwards. In the delicacy of the
sense of taste and touch man excels
all other animals.

The female breasts are placed in
front of the chest.

He possesses an advantage pecu-
liar to himself in the organs of
voice ; for he alone is capable of
uttering articulate sounds ; a power
which apparently depends on the
form of his mouth, and the great
flexibility of his lips.

APES, &c.

The feet of apes are peculiar, and
resemble large hands, the toes being
like fingers, and the under surface
of the hind-foot like the palm of the

The hind feet of the quadrumana
(to which order apes belong) have
a thumb capable of being opposed
to the other toes, which are as

APPENDIX.

399

Aristotle.
hand, but terminating in a badly
shaped heel. Hence they often use
their feet as hands. Their arms
resemble those of man, as also their
hands, and fingers, and nails ; and
they bend their extremities in the
same direction as man does*. The
upper part of their body being
larger than the lower part, as is the
case with decided quadrupeds ; and
their feet partaking of the character
of hands ; their pelvis moreover be-
ing small ; they are from these joint
causes incapable of continuing long
in an erect position.

Like man they have two mammas
on the chest; and their internal
anatomy resembles the human.

Some of the apes (pithekoi) re-
semble man in many points, as to
their face : for they have nostrils
and ears ; and both their front and
back teeth not much unlike those of

Cupier, torn. I.
long and as flexible as the fingers ;
whence they are capable of climbing
well ; but they do not easily walk,
or support themselves in an erect
position, because their pelvis is
narrow, and the plane of the under
surface of their feet is not horizontal.

In the character of their intes-
tines, in the direction of their eyes,
and in the position of their breasts,
they resemble man; and the struc-
ture of their fore-arms and hands
enables them to imitate us in many
of their gestures and actions.

The higher species of apes have
flat nails ; and teeth very much re-
sembling the human both in number
and arrangement, and also in form ;
and they have no tail.

• THE HEDGEHOG AND PORCUPINE.

Porcupines and land-echini, or
hedgehogs, are covered with spines,
which are properly to be considered
in these animals as a kind of rigid
and indurated hair ; for these spines
do not serve the purposes of feet,
as they do in sea-echini.

THE MOLE

Hedgehogs have their bodies co-
vered with quills instead of hair ;
and so have porcupines.

All viviparous animals have eyes,
except the mole; and even this
animal, although it has neither the
faculty of sight, nor eyes readily
visible, cannot be said to be alto-
gether without eyes ; for if its skin
be taken off, you may distinguish
not only the natural situation of the
eyes, but that black central part of
the eye itself in which the pupil is
contained; as if these organs had
been imperfectly developed, and the
skin had grown over them. If the
skin, which is thick, be stripped off

The eye of the mole is so small,
and so concealed by the skin, that
for a long time this animal was
supposed to be without eyes. The
bl id rat-mole has no visible trace of
external eyes ; but in taking off the
skin, a very small black point is
observable, which appears to have
the organization of an eye, without
the possibility of being employed as
such, because the skin passes over
it not only in an entire state, but
as thick and as closely covered with
hair as in any other part of the

* The same is true of quadrupeds in general : in most of which, however, Aristotle
mistook the joint at the heel and wrist, for that of the knee and elhow.

400 APPENDIX.

Aristotle.
from the head, you may perceive on
its inner surface, and in the usual
region, distinct eyes ; which, though
small and shrunk, as it were, have
all the essential parts of those or-
gans, namely, a pupil placed in the
centre of the black part of the eye,
and that black part surrounded by
the white.

THE BEAR.

Cuvier, torn. I.
face. This may probably be the
animal which, according to M. Oli-
vier, gave the idea to the ancients
of describing the mole as totally
blind*.

The bear is an omnivorous animal,
living on various fruits, on honey,
on ants, and on flesh ; attacking not
only the smaller animals, but even
wild boars and bullst. The feet of
the bear resemble hands; and for
a short time this animal can walk
erect on its two hind feet.

The bear, though so powerful an
animal, is not disposed to feed on
flesh, unless when compelled by want
of other food. Bears walk on the
whole sole of the foot, and are thus
enabled to raise themselves with
comparative ease in an erect posi-
tion on their hind feet.

THE SEAL.

The seal brings forth its young on
shore, but passes most of its time
in the sea, and derives its nourish-
ment from thence. With respect to
its extremities, it may be considered
as an imperfect quadruped ; for im-
mediately in succession to its shoul-
der-blades it has feet resembling
hands% ; and on each foot are five
toes, and each toe has three joints :
the hind-feet in their shape resemble
the tail of a fish. All the teeth of
the seal are sharp and pointed, as
indicating the approximation of their
nature to fish ; almost all fish having
teeth of that character. The seal
has a cloven tongue.

The feet of the seal are so short,
and so enveloped in the skin, that
on land they only serve them for
crawling; but, as the interstices of
the toes are filled up with mem-
brane, they act as excellent oars ;
and hence these animals pass the
greater part of their life in the sea,
only coming to land for the purpose
of basking in the sun and suckling
their cubs. They have five toes on
each of their feet; and on the hind
feet the outermost and innermost
are longest, the intermediate being
shortest. All their teeth have either
pointed or cutting edges. Their
tongue is indented at the extremity.

THE ELEPHANT.

The elephant has five toes on
each foot; though the joints of these
are not vejy distinct. It has four
teeth on each side of its mouth, with
which it triturates its food, and

Elephants have on each foot five,
toes, very well defined in the skele-
ton, but so imbedded in the callous
skin enveloping the foot, that they
can only be recognised externally

* By an examination of Aristotle's description, it is evident that the ancients
knew the true state of the case, namely, that the mole has eyes.

■f Its mode of engaging with the bull is thus described by Aristotle ; "In engaging
the bull, the bear throws itself on its back ; and, while the bull is attempting to toss
it, the bear takes the bull's horns between its paws, and thus overthrows its
adversary.

X From the shortness of the arm and fore-arm in this animal, Aristotle overlooked
these parts.

APPENDIX.

401

Aristotle.
makes it as smooth as bran : and
besides these it has two very large
teeth. It has a long and powerful
proboscis, which it uses as a hand;
for with this organ it takes up and
conveys to its mouth both solid and
liquid food. Its intestines have ap-
pendages, presenting the appear-
ance of four stomachs : and it has
two mammae placed by the side of
the chest, near the axilla?. The cub
of the elephant sucks with its mouth,
and not with its proboscis*.

Cuvier, torn. I.
by their nails, which are attached
to the edge of this hoof as it were.
They have two tusks, which some-
times grow to an enormous size ; and
either four or eight grinding teeth
on each side, according to the pe-
riods of their development. The
proboscis, terminating in an appen-
dage like a finger, gives to the
elephant a degree of address equal
to that which the hand of the ape
imparts to that animal. The ele-
phant uses this proboscis for the
purpose of conveying solid food or
pumping up liquids into its mouth.
The intestines of the elephant are
voluminous : it 'has two mammae
placed under the breast, and its cub
sucks with the mouth, and not with
the trunk.

RUMINATING ANIMALS.

All viviparous quadrupeds which
have horns are without the front
teeth in the upper jaw ; and some
indeed which have no horns have
the same defect with respect to the
teeth, as the camel.

Of viviparous quadrupeds some
are cloven-footed and have hoofs
instead of claws, as the ox, sheep,
goat, and deer. The same animals
have four stomachs, and are said to
ruminate.

With the exception of the deer,
all ruminating animals have horns
which are partly hollow, and partly
solid ; the hollow part grows out
of the skin, of which it is indeed a
continuation ; but that part round
which this hollow is fitted is solid,
and grows out of the bone: as in
oxen.

The horns of mosl animals are,
in their form, simple, and are hollow,
except at their extremity; the horns
of the deer alone are in their form
arborescent ; and, in their substance,
solid throughout.

With the exception of the camel
and the musk, all the animals of this
order have horns : and all are with-
out front teeth in the upper jaw.

The feet terminate in two toes,
each of which is covered with a
separate hoof, and is opposed to its
fellow by a flat surface; from whence
they are called cloven-footed. The
animals of this order are called
ruminating; and have always four
stomachs.

The structure of the' horns differs
in different species. In some the
solid osseous part which projects
from the frontal bone is covered with
a hollow case, which grows over it
from the skin, as in oxen, sheep,
and goats.

* Camper says that in almost all points the anatomy of the elephant is correctly
represented by Aristotle ; the apparent inconsistencies arising from his having
dissected a young elephant. Tom. 2. p. 20,j, &c.

VOL. II. D D

402

APPENDIX.

Aristotle.
The deer alone, from the age of
two years, sheds its horns annually ;
the horns of other animals are

fiermanenl, unless separated by vio-
ence. Deer at the age of one year
have merely the rudiments of horns,
short sprouts, as it were, covered
with downy skin, At the age of
two years they develope straight
horns like wooden pegs ; and are
hence called at that period vaTr^x'^,.

At three years their horns have
two branches ; at four years, more ;
and in this way the number of
branches increases till the animal
is six years old; after which the
number is not increased.

The horn at first grows as it were
in the skin, and has a soft villous
covering; and after it has attained
its full growth, the animal exposes
itself to the sun, in order to ripen
and dry up this covering.

Cuvier, torn. I.

In the various species of deer the
osseous projections are covered, du-
ring their growth, with skin resem-
bling that of the rest of the head.
This skin subsequently perishes,
leaving the osseous horn uncovered ;
and, after a time, the horns them-
selves are shed ; and are succeeded
by others which are usually larger
than the preceding ; and these again
are shed in their turn and replaced
by others.

The figure of the horn in deer
varies according to the age and
species of the animal.

CETACEOUS ANIMALS.

The dolphin and whale, and other
cetaceous animals, which have not
gills, but a tube for conveying away
the sea-water received into their
mouth, are viviparous ; and they
respire air, for they have lungs:
and hence, if caught in a net, and
unable to come to the surface for
the purpose of breathing, they are
suffocated.

The dolphin utters a kind of mur-
mur when it is in the air ; for it has
a voice, inasmuch as it has lungs,
and an air-tube leading to them;
but having no lips, and its tongue
being not sufficiently moveable, it is
unable to utter an articulate sound.

The dolphin has mammae, not
placed in the anterior part of the
body, but near the vent.

The mildness and docility of the
dolphin are remarkable.

These fish swim in large flocks,
and their swiftness is so remarkable
that they have been known to spring
over the masts (decks ?) of ships.

Cetaceous animals remain con-
stantly in the water; but, as they
respire by means of lungs, they are
obliged to come often to the surface
for air. p. 272. The ordinary ceta-
cea possess a remarkable apparatus,
from which they are called blowers,
by means of which they discharge
through their nostrils a large volume
of water which they take into their
mouth with their food. p. 275.

They have no prominent lamina?
in their glottis; and hence their
voice is nothing more than a simple
lowing, p. 27(5.

Their mamma? are placed near
the vent. p. 276.

The general organization of the
dolphin's brain shews that it pos-
sesses the docility usuallv attributed
to it. p. 2/8.

The common dolphin, which is
found in large flocks in every sea,
and is remarkable for its swiftness
of motion, so that it occasionally
darts over the decks of ships, ap-

APPENDIX. 403

Aristotle. Cuvier, torn. I.

pears evidently to be the dolphin of
the ancients, p. 278.
The cetaceous animal called mys- The upper jaw of the baleenae is fur-
ticetus has no teeth, but hairs in- nished with thin transverse laminae
stead, like hogs' bristles. closely set, formed of a kind of fi-

brous horn, terminating in a bristly
fringe at the border, p. 284(a).

Theophrastus was the son of a fuller, named Melancthus, and born 370
years before the Christian era; he was at first called Tyrtamus, but Aristotle
gave him the surname of Theophrastus, on accountof his divine eloquence.
He was at first a disciple of Leucipus and of Plato. Tenderly beloved by
Aristotle, he succeeded him in the chair of philosophy, in 324, and had
more than a thousand disciples; he formed one of the first botanical
gardens. His two principal works of natural history, are nine books of
the history of plants, and six of the causes of plants, a kind of vegetable phy-
siology ; he is much better known on account of his characters, translated
and so ingeniously imitated by Labruyere. It is said that he lived one
hundred years, and that the people of Athens assisted in a body at his
funeral.

Lucius Apuleius was an inhabitant of Madaura, in Africa. He was con-
temporary with the Antonimus, and author of a curious romance called the
Golden Ass. He employed twenty pages of his first apology in justifying
himself for his curiosity in his researches upon fishes, and to prove that it
was not for magical operations. It is evident from this discourse, that he
has written much upon this class of animals, but his works on this subject
are not extant.

f£jr" ( a ) We cannot omit the following observations on the above result of a
most happy combination of ingenuity and sagacity, on the part of Dr. Kidd, with
which he closes his account.

In comparing, then, the zoology of Aristotle with that of the moderns, it has not
been my intention to prove that the classification of the one is built upon equally
clear and extensive demonstrations as that of the other ; but to shew, as in harmony
with the general object of this treatise, that, even in the very dawn of science, there is
frequently sufficient light to guide the mind to at least an approximation to the truth —
to much nearer approximation, indeed, than could have been antecedently expected by
those who are not accustomed to reflect philosophically on the uniformity of the laws
of nature. Thus, as has been already mentioned, the advancement of science has
shewn the existence of such a general coincidence and harmony of relation between
the several component parts of an individual animal, that even a partial acquaintance
with the details of its structure will frequently enable the inquirer to ascertain its
true place in the scale of organization. And hence, although Aristotle knew nothing
of the circulation of the blood, or of the general physiology of the nervous system,
and even comparatively little of the osteology of animals, yet subsequent discoveries
have scarcely disturbed the order of his arrangement. He placed the whale, for in-
stance, in the same natural division with common quadrupeds, because he saw that
like them it is viviparous, and suckles its young, and respires by lungs and not by
gills ; and with viviparous quadrupeds it is still classed ; the circulation of its blood,
as well as the arrangement of its nervous system, being essentially the same as in
that class of animals. And, notwithstanding the difference of its form, its osteology,
which holds an analogy throughout with that of quadrupeds, is the same actually in
a part where it would be least expected ; for, with the remarkable exception of the
sloth, all viviparous quadrupeds have exactly seven cervical vertebra?, and so has the
whale ; whereas fish, to the general form of which the whale closely approximates,
having no neck, have no cervical vertebra ; and the deficiency of the neck in fish was
recognized by Aristotle.

dd2

404 APPENDIX.

Marcus Terentius Varro, who was considered the most erudite of
the Romans, was 'born 116 years before Christ, and died 28 years before
that period. We only speak of him here on account of his Treatise de
rerustica.

Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, contemporary with Claudius,
was born at Cadis, and was author of twelve books : De re rustica.

Ovid is not one of those men whose lives it is necessary to recall the
history. It will suffice to note, that he was born 43 years before the coming
of Christ, exiled ten years after the birth of Christ, and died seven years
after. It was during the last seven years of his life that he composed his
poem of the Halieutigues, if this work really belongs to him.

Pliny, the elder, (Caius Plinius secundus) one of the most laborious and
erudite men of antiquity, was born at Verona, 23 years before the Christian
era; he studied at Rome, visited the coast of Africa, served in the Roman
armies of Germany, remained in Spain during the civil wars which fol-
lowed the death of Nero, and died, commander of the Roman fleet, 79 years
after the birth of Christ, on account of his taking too little caution in
observing the great eruption of Vesuvius. His natural history, in thirty-
seven volumes, dedicated to Titus, is the only work of his that remains.
He passed a great portion of his life in collecting the materials with an
ardour and perseverance which surpasses all imagination. It is composed
of extracts from more than two thousand volumes, from authors, of whose
works we do not possess more than forty volumes.

Oppian, of Anazarba, in Cilicia, was born towards the end of the reign of
Marcus Aurelius ; his father fell into disgrace with Severus, and was sent
into exile. The poetry of Oppian was so much liked by Caracalla, that,
it is said, he pardoned his father, and granted him a statera of gold for
each verse. He died from contagion, in his native town, about his thirtieth
year. The fifth book of his Cynegetics and all his lxeutics, in which he
treats on birds, are lost; but his Habiutics are wholly preserved.

Athenius, author of Deiprosophists, was an inhabitant of Naucrata, in
Egypt. The dinner of which he gives a description, and at which he
assisted, is supposed to have taken place in the house of a man (Larentius),
whom Marcus Aurelius had honoured with employments of confidence;
consequently he lived in the second century, and, nevertheless, he quotes
Oppian, who did not write till the commencement of the third. It is true
that Belin de Buller thinks that the quotation was not made by Athenius,
but merely by the person to whom we owe the abridgment of the two first
books of his work. In effect, we have only his two first works in the form
of abridgment ; the others are entire, or nearly so. There are fifteen in
number.

The time of Elian, author of the History of Animals, is uncertain;
nevertheless, it is generally placed in the second century, or at the com-
mencement of the third, because he is thought to be either Claudius Elian,
de Prenesta, who taught rhetoric at Rome, after the reign of Antoninus,
according to Suidas, or Elian the sophist, whose life Philostratus wrote,
and who some say died after Commodus, and others after Elagabalus.
It is impossible that these two Elians should be the same person ; but it is
said that neither of them wrote upon natural history.

Decius Magnus Ausonius, was born at Bordeaux, and was preceptor
to the Emperor Gratian, and consul in 379 ; he died 394. Amongst his
poetry is a little poem on the Moselle, in which he describes the fishes in
that river.

Strabo, the father of Geography, was born at Amasa, in Cappadocia,
about fifty years before Christ, and died during the reign of Tiberius. He
names several fishes of the Nile in his seventeenth book, and in other places
speaks of fishing for thons and pelamydes

APPENDIX. 405

Pausanias, author of Travels in Greece, flourished under Antoninus.
He compared, in his Messeniacs, the fishes of Greece with those of Egypt.

Pedacius Dioscoridus, of Anazarba, in Cilicia, who is thought to have
.lived under Nero, mentions five or six fishes in his second book on Materia
Medica. There is also a fragment of a poem of Marcellus, contemporary
of Antoninus, in which he names sixty fishes, but without any other
indication.

Galen is another of those men too well known for us to mention any
thing about except a few dates. He was born at Pergama, towards the
year 131 ; having studied at Alexandria, he went to Rome in 169, became
physician to Marcus Aurelius, and after the death of that prince returned
to Pergama, where he died in 200. He is the last of the ancient anatomists.
It is in his treatise De aliment or urn facilitate, where he speaks of a great
number of fishes relative to the qualities of their flesh.

Oribastes, was physician to the Emperor Julian, about the middle of the
third century. In the second book of his Collecta medicinalia, after
having copied the above mentioned chapters of Galen, he adds rather a
long one taken from a Treatise of Xenocrates, upon the aliments furnished
by fish, in which are several names and facts very useful.

It is not known who this Xenocrates was ; some suppose him to have
been, but with a very slight degree of probability, that he was aca-
demical philosopher, the second successor of Plato.

Saint Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, was born about the year 340, and
died in 397. The eleven first chapters of the fifth book of his Hexeemeron,
are consecrated to the description of fishes.

Eustathius, archbishop of Antioch, one of the prelates of the council
of Nice, says in his Hexa'meron, or commentary on the work of six clays,
but a few words on the saw-fish, the scarus, the echeneis, and the sea-fox.

Manuel Phile, born at Ephesus, towards the year 1*275, and died in
1340, has put into verse the facts relative to the history of animals borrowed
from Elian.

Saint Isidore, bishop of Seville, lived towards the end of the sixth
century, during the reigns of the Emperor Mauricus and of King Ricardus :
he composed many works on theology, history, and erudition. The
twelfth book of his Origins, is the only one of his works interesting to
the naturalist.

Albert, called the Great, of the family of the counts of Bollstedt, was
born atLaningen, in Sonabe, in 1193. After having studied at Padua, he
went to teach the philosophy of Aristotle at Paris, and there obtained a
great reputation as professor. He entered, in 1221, into the order of
Dominican Friars, and became Provincial in Germany, in 1254; then,
master of the sacred palace at Rome ; and, in 1260, Bishop of Ratisbonne :
he finished by entering his monastery, where he died in 1280. His works,
printed at Lyons in 1651, occupy twenty-two large volumes in folio; his
sixth and fourteenth books relate to fishes.

Vincent de Beauvais, a Dominican friar, who, it is thought, died in
1256, and whom Albert the Great survived twenty-four years, compiled
a work truly prodigious, on account of the number of subjects it contains,
and which may be called the encyclopedia of the middle ages. It is his
Bibliotheca mundi sive Speculum majus, divided into four parts, of which
the first, entitled speculum ?iaturale, an enormous volume, in folio, embraces
the entire of natural philosophy and history. It is said that the king
(some say Philip Augustus, others Saint Louis) procured for him the
books and copiests requisite for such an undertaking. He speaks of fishes
in his seventeenth book.

Paul Giovis, was born at Coma, in 1483, and died at Florence in 1552.
He was rather celebrated as being one of the elegant Italian writers.

406 APPENDIX.

His first work, less known than his others, is a Latin treatise on fishes,
De Romanis piscibus Libellus ad ludovicum Borbonium.

Peter Gilles, born at Alby, in 1490, was sent by Francis I. to the
Levant, but having no support, he found it necessary to enrol himself in

f y,

Ed. Wotton, an Oxford physician, author of a work entitled, On the
Differences of Animals ; but it is merely a compilation from the ancients,
without containing any thing new.

The Author, after mentioning Loricerus, whose work he disposes of
with a few unfavourable expressions, adds, that the authors whose works
are described after those of Aristotle and Theophrastus up to the present
moment, were of very little value, and he observes that it was not until
about the middle of the sixteenth century that the men sprang up who
laid the foundation for modern Ichthyology.

Peter Belon, the first of the three authors alluded to, was born in 1518 ;
and studied in-'Germany: after travelling in Italy and the Levant, he
returned to Paris-in 1550, and he obtained from Charles IX. a place in the
Chateau de Madrid, at the Bois de Boulogne, near Paris, where he was
assassinated in- 1564. He published four works, and their particular
object is to give the natural history of foreign sea fishes.

Hippolyte";Salviani, a physician, born in 1513, is author of a work
with beautiful' and exact plates on a large scale.

Wm. Roudelet, born at Montpellier, in 1507- He has left us wood
engravings of T sea fishes, much more beautiful and exact than any of his
predecessors,/ "'

Conrad Gesner, a Swiss, born in 1516; he left five large volumes on
the history of" animals, and of fishes especially, illustrating those of
Venice, England, and Germany.

Ulysses Androvandi, a Bolognese, devoted his fortune to the illus-
tration of natural history. He was born in 1527-

Andrew Thevet, a Grey Friar, who flourished in 1550, wrote a cele-
brated book entitled Singularities of Antarctic France, which name he
applied to Brazil.

John de Lery, a Protestant minister, a traveller to Brazil, who gives
an account of its fishes in his voyage.

Charles de l'Echusa, well known as Chiseus, born in Arras, published
some plates of the Chundra, Diodons, and a few others.

John Delaet, born at Antwerp, at the end of the 16th century, a
splendid promoter of natural history.

John Eusebius Nieremberg, a Jesuit, born in Madrid 1590, published
an account of a great number of fishes in his work, " Foreign Natural
History."

Francis Hermandez, a Spanish physician to Philip II, composed a
natural history of Mexico, which, however, came ultimately through
other hands, and in piece-meal.

William Pison, a physician who accompanied a Dutch expedition to
Brazil in 1640. He was assisted by Margrave.

James Bontius, a physician of Batavia in 1625, gave descriptions of
the fishes of that country. This work was enlarged by Nieuhoff, a
native of Bentheim, in Westphalia.

John Baptist Durtxe, a Dominican monk, a missionary to the
Antilles, described the Antilles, and particularly the fishes of the lakes,
rivers, &c.

Rochfort, a Rotterdam Protestant minister, also gave the world a
history, natural and moral, of the Antilles,

APPENDIX. 407

Peter Andrew Mattioli, born at Senna in 1500, added several fishes
to those of Gessner.

Ferrante Imperato, a Neapolitan physician, added several Mediter-
ranean fishes.

The names of the various contributors which succeed, must be now
given more briefly, and we shall therefore mention the name, birth, or
period when the author flourished.

Year of Birth, or
Birth-place. in which he flou-

rished.

Fabius Columna Naples 1567

Caspar Schwenkfeld Silesia . 1603

Etienne de Schomelde Hamburgh 1624

Robert Sibbald Edinburgh 1684

Jerome Fabricius Aqua

Harvey Master Pendente 1565

Julius Casserius Padua 1 606

M. Aurelius Severinus Tarissa 1610

John Alpbourns Borelli Pisa 1608

Marcel Malpighi Bologna 1628

Nicolas Stenon Copenhagen 1638

William Harvey Folkstone, Kent .... 1577

Volcher Coiter Nuremberg 1534

Caspar Bartholin Schonen 1585

Gerard Blasius Bruges 1682

John Swammerdam Amsterdam 1 637

J. G. Duverney Tours 1648

Paul S. Boccone Palermo 1 663

Antonio Valisnieri Modena 1700

Gauthier Needham London 1660

G. C. Schelhammer Jena 1649

Olaus Borichus Denmark 1 627

Oliger Jacobus Do 1650

M. B. Valethus Giessers 1 657

S. Collins England 1685

John Johnson Scotland 1603

John Ray England 1628

Fr. Willoughby , . . Do 1672

Hans Sloane Ireland 1660

Marco Catesby . . . London 1680

Griffith Hughes England 1750

George Edwards Do 1743

C G. Zorgrader Holland 1720

Hans Edge Norway 1721

Nic Horrebon Denmark 1752

Eric Pontoppodan Norway , . 1750

L. F. Count De Marsigli Italy 1682

Willilm Posman Holland 1705

Francis Leguat France 1638

J. B. Labat Paris 1663

408 APPENDIX.

Year of Birth, or
Birth-place. in which he flou-

rished.

Corn. Lebrun Holland 1714

Paul Lucas France 1606

Peter Kolbe Germany 1712

Corn, de Vlaming Holland 1715

Louis Renard Do 1720

F. Valentyn Do 1706

Eng elbert Kcempfer Westphalia 1688

P. F. X. De Chaslevoix France 1689

Charles Plumier Do 1646

Louis Feuillee Do 1660

J. G. Dagoty Do 1752

Peter Artedi Sweden 1724

Linn-eus Do. b. 24 May, 1707,

d. 1778.

Gronovius, and his Family Hamburgh ....*.. , 1740

M. Brisson France 1723

P. Brown England 17-56

F. Hasselquist . Sweden 1757

Peter Osbeck Germany 1757

Albar Saba Holland 1700

A. Russel Scotland 1756

J. T. Kcelruter Germany 1763

Hans Strcem Norway 1766

Adam Olearius Germany 1620

James Petiver London 1716

A. Garden Scotland 1730

J. D. Meyer Germany 1748

J. Hill London 1750

G. W. Knorr Germany 1767

A. de Nobleville and Salerne . . France 1756

W. H. Kramer Germany 1756

J. T. Klein. Do 1685

H. L. Duiiamel

Du Monceau France 1740

T. Pennant England 1798

A. Gouan France 1770

P. S. Pallas Germany 1741

P. Commerson France 1727

L. A. de Bougainville Do 1729

P. Sonnerat Do 1 776

J. Banks England 1770

D. Solander Sweden 1760

James Cook (the celebrated Cap-
tain Cook) England 1773

S. Parkinson Do 1773

J. R. Forster Polish Prussia 1729

G. G. A. Forster Germany 1760

Bowdich, Mrs. (now Mrs. Lee, an
English lady, still living).

APPENDIX. 409

Year of Birth, or
Birth-place. in which he flou-
rished.
P. Forskall Sweden 1760

C. Nieburgh Germany 1760

D. T. Messerschmidt , Do 1685

J. G. Gmelin Do 1750

G. W. Steller Russia 1734

J. P. Falk Sweden 1730

S. T. Gmelin Germany 1770

J. A. Guldenstedt. Russia 1760

J. T. Georgi Pomerania 1760

J. Lepxchin Russia 1790

N. Rylschkou Do 1/74

J. C. Fabricius Duchy of Slesvic . . . 1779

O. Fabricius Do 1780

E. Olfassen Iceland 1740

P. Ascanius Norway 17^7

O. F. Muller Denmark 1770

C. P. Thunberg Sweden 1759

M. Houttuyn Holland 1761

J. Broussonet France 1786

M. T. Brunnich Sweden 1 768

T. Celti Italy 1 774

J. Cormde Spain 1788

J. C. Wulff . . Germany 1765

J. B. Fischer Do 1778

J. C. BlRKHOLZ Do 1770

N. G. Leske Do 1774

Baron de Meidenger Do 1794

F. SCHRANK Do 1786

W. Marsden England 1788

J. Molina . Italy 1789

J. R. Forster England 1771

J. Hermann Germany 1760

J. A. Scopoli Italy 1/25

M. E. Blocii Germany 1723

R. H. Hauy France ." 1812

N. Bonaterre Do 1800

J. J. Walbaum ... Germany 1780

J. F. Gmelin Do 1760

F. P. Dupetet France 1664

Wm. Cheselden . England 1688

A. Haller Germany 1736

Peter Camper Do 1722

F. Yicq-D'Azyr Valonia J 748

A. Monro London 1697

F. D. Herissant France 1724

G. Hewson England 1774

R. A. Ferchand de Reaumur ... France 16'83

J. N. J. Allemand Germany 1/13

Count de Lacepede France 1756

410 APPENDIX.

Year of Birth, or
Birth-place. in which he flou-

rished.

G. Shaw England 1751

F. Cupani Italy 1657

D. Viviani Genoa living

A. Spinola Do do.

M. Giorna Turin . , do.

M. Bonnelli Do do.

M. Otto Breslau do.

M. Ramzani Bologna do.

F. L. Nacceri Italy do.

D. Nordo Do do.

Captain Krusenstern Cronstadt do.

Captain Baudin Fiance do.

Captain Freycinet Do do.

Captain Duperrey Do do.

M. Rafinesque Italy do.

M. de Blainville France do.

M. Goldfuss Do. do.

M. Risso „ Italy do.

M. O'Ken Germany do.

J. H. F. AUTENRIETH Do do.

G. St. Hilaire France do.

C. G. Carus Germany do.

L. H. Bojanus Polish Russia .... do.

G. Barker Germany do.

Van der Hceven Do do.

J. F. Meckel Do recently deceased

M. Dumeril France living

Sir E. Home England .... lately dead

M. M. TlEDMANN, AND

Dcellinger Germany living

M. Fohmann Do do.

M. Rudolphi Do lately dead

The more recent labours of naturalists are next noticed by Cuvier,
and the following are the names of men who have recently performed
voyages, or have in some other way devoted their time to the illustra-
tion of the natural history of Fishes.

M. M. Peron and Lesueur.

The late M. Delalande.

M. Augustus St. Hilaire.

Prince Maximilian of Neuwied.

M. M. Richard and Leblond.

M. Pointeau, Leschenault, and Ad. Doumere.

M. Pley, a victim to his love of nature in South America.

M. Lefort, physician, and M. Achard, apothecary, colonial resi
dents; as also M. Ricord, M. Poey, M. Bosc, M. M. Milbert; Dr.
Mitchell of New York ; M. Lesueur, M. Dekay, M. Richardson, M.
Roger, M. Marceschaux, Sonnerat, Leschenault, M. Mathieu, M.
Diard, and Duvaucel, M. M. Kuhl, and Van Hesselt, M. Reinward,

APPENDIX. 411

M. Alfred Duvaucel, M. Dussumier, M. Ehrenberg, M. Tilesius, M.
M. Langsdorf, Temminck, Risso, Bonnelle, Savigny, Biberon,
Leach, De Rigny, Bailie, Polydore Roux, D'Orbigny, Garnot, Bail-
Ion ; and several other gentlemen are mentioned, who assisted in pro-
curing the author many specimens (a).

G^f* ( a ) As a great many new principles have been disclosed by comparative
anatomy, which apply to the illustration of the anatomy of man, we feel it to be only
our duty to give the latest of the very curious and important facts, ascertained re-
specting the relations of the peculiar structure of fishes, to that of man. The fol-
lowing statement is taken from the work of a Berlin medical gentleman, only recently
published in that city ; and it is upon the subject of the branchial openings of the
human foetus, as a cause of malformation.

On the Branchial or Gill-like Openings in the Neck of the Human Foetus, as a cause of
certain Malformations. — M. Ascherson, the author of this memoir, lately published
in Latin at Berlin, has called the attention of his medical brethren to a curious con-
genital anomaly, or "vitium formationis," which he has observed in several persons.
The number of cases altogether amounts to eleven ; and most of them occurred in
female children, of a scrofulous, or at least of a lymphatic constitution. The authen-
ticity of most is guaranteed by the testimony of that able physiologist Rudolphi.
The following may be given as a brief description of the disease : — On the anterior
and lateral part of the neck there is observed a fistulous opening, which is situated
generally in that triangular hollow between the clavicle and the two points of inser-
tion of the sternomastoideus ; but sometimes it is at the inner edge of this muscle.
It is much more frequently found on the right than on the left side ; and if there
should happen to be one on either side, that on the right is always larger and placed
somewhat higher up than the other one. The aperture is invariably very narrow ;
occasionally scarcely visible, but at other times it is surrounded with a red circle, or
it may project like a papilla. It generally follows the movements of the pharynx in
deglutition, and when this is the case, we observe a transverse furrow, at the bottom
of which is situated the fistulous opeuing. If a probe be introduced, it may perhaps
be pushed forwards a little way, but in most of the cases it is stopped very soon, in
consequence of the sinuosity of the canal. In one case, fluid, injected at the outer
opening, passed into the pharynx, and the patient was sensible of its taste ; and in
another, the attempts made to cure the fistula in this way were followed by disagree-
able consequences, such as swelling of the neck, smarting pain, and the sensation as
if a foreign body was sticking in the pharynx. On no occasion was any air ever ob-
served to escape from the opening, even whenthe effort of respiration was strong,
while the moiith and nostrils were kept closed. The discharge from the fistula was
sometimes viscid and clear, and at other times, more of a purulent appearance ; and
it was remarked that in the latter case, the quantity of the discharge was always
more profuse. Although this disease be congenital, it may increase after birth be-
yond its original extent. Eight of the cases seen by Dr. Ascherson, occurred in fe-
males, and three in males. These fistula now described have some analogy with the
tracheal fistula? recently discovered and explained by M. Dzondi ; but the origin and
the anatomical characters of the two are very different. In order that we may com-
pare them, we have extracted tbe following remarks from Dzondi' s narrative:

"At the anterior part of the neck, about the middle of the concave edge of the
thyroid cartilage, there is found a small round opening, of about a line in diameter ;
its edges are neither red, tumefied, nor surrounded with any fleshy rim. It is not
painful on being touched ; and when firmly compressed, several drops of a puriform
fluid may be made to flow out. A probe cannot be pushed very deep, in consequence
of the winding track of the fistula, and on no occasion can it be introduced into the
trachea, although a few bubbles of air almost always escape upon any forcible srepi-
ration."

These tracheal fistulre may be associated, or occur in connexion with other congeni-
tal anomalies or irregularities of formation ; especially with those which are denomi-
nated " monstrosities from asymphysis," that is, from an incomplete junction of the
two lateral halves of the body. We cannot, however, take the same view of those

412 APPENDIX.

described by M. Ascherson, because they are not situated in the median line of the
body ; and as they have no communication with the air-passages, we must necessa-
rily infer that their origin is not similar. He is of opinion that they should be re-
garded as proceeding from some anomaly or aberration of the nisus formativus,
congeneral with those which cause an arrest of the development of the foetus, during
one of those phases which it successively passes through, before it reaches its perfect
state. To one of these transition forms belong the branchial fistula; discovered by
Rathke, first in the young of the pig, horse, hen, water-snake, (coluber natrix) and
lizard, and afterwards in a human embryo, about seven or eight weeks old. These
fistula; or tubes consist in from six to eight apertures, arranged symmetrically on
either' side of the neck, opening into the pharynx, covered externally with a sort of
operculum, and exhibiting on their inner surface several arched lamellae. Rathke
compares these apertures with the branchial apertures of the shark ; and a beauti-
ful confirmation of this opinion may be derived from the identity which exists in the
vascular arrangements of fishes and of the early chick, as clearly made out and de-
scribed by M. Huschke of Dresden. This anatomist publicly demonstrated that the
aorta of the young chick gives off six branches, which pass on to the inner surface
of the branchial arches, (or those lamellae which are considered as rudimentary bran-
chiae), and which afterwards communicate with, and terminate in, the descending
aorta. Biiar has verified the existence of these branchial apertures in the foetal dog
and rabbit ; and his observations have been confirmed by Burbach, Muller, Allan,
Thompson, and Becker. M. Rudolphi mentions having seen at Stralsund, an infant in
whom the closing up of a fistula of this sort, brought on aphonia, epileptic convulsions,
and other alarming symptoms, which gave way only when the ulcer was re-established,
and the discharge permitted to flow. In one of the cases related by Dzondi, the
healing of the fistulous opening was followed by a train of evils which finally proved
fatal.

END OF VOL.II.

LONDON:

J. HENDERSON, PRINTER,
WHITE-FRTARS.

Li- •''

'

^

J

/ \. / ^ i ^ \

• v ft*, is . H
sr ^ . ^gKJKW fir

4- v 1

%

'*«

"> v"

% <*

\ ^

v.

O.

A| \ <* Jim %

'

SMfTHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES

W'Mw'/W.

3 9088 01506 4785