| eI as wy | ( | | = == =. - be mI SB r i! i ‘ 1@) Y t te ! eee rey ¢, Ca ili. &p = Ht fcr! Tg : | i \ Py: $ | S. 4 sy | | o hs ‘ hale) ven np, é My y Ly ; o) ay By)! i a f, Maya On aa ‘ [ er Baran. | a GaQ¢o cam THE Sr sia - NJ . radi » ANIMAL KINGDOM ARRANGED IN CONFORMITY WITH ITS ORGANIZATION, BY THE BARON CUVIER, PERPETUAL SECRETARY TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ETC. ETC. ETC. * THE CRUSTACEA, ARACHNIDES AND INSECTA, BY P. A. LATREILLE, ¥ MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY-OF SCIENCES, ETC. ETC. ETC. os Z4L 4 C- * 4 TRANSLATEREROM THE FRENCH, WITH NOTES AND ADDITIONS, BY H. M’MURTRIE, M.D. &c. &c. IN FOUR VOLUMES, WITH PLATES. VOLUME II. NEW YORK : GPs. Cee ‘GAR Va Le. " MDCCCXXXI. = 3 4 ‘Entered according to the act of congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, by G. & C. & H. Carvill, in the clerk’s office of the southern district of New York. Fes yt bs omega - — b . . a. ; Philadelphia : Fetes 2 Printed by James Kay, Jun. & Co. aa Printers to the American Philosophical Socisty. 2e No. 4, Minor Street. : ey . ~— : - SYSTEMATIC INDEX. REPTILIA CHELONIA Testudo Testudo proper Emys Cistuda Chelonura Chelonia Sphargis Chelys Trionyx SAURIA CROCODILIDA Crocodilus Gavial Crocodilus proper = Alligator LACERTINIDA Monitor Monitor proper -Crocodilurus Sauvegardes Ameiva Lacerta Algyra Tachydromus IGUANIDA AGAMIDA Stellio Cordylus Stellio proper Doryphorus Uromastix Agama Agama proper Tapayes Trapelus Leiolepis Tropidolepis Leposoma te i Calotes te ae Lophyrus Gonocephalus Lyriocephalus Brachylophus Vou. II.—(2) Physignathus Istiurus Draco Sitana Pterodactylus IcUANIDA proper Iguana Ophryessa Basiliscus -Polychrus Echphimotus Oplurus » Anolius GECKOTIDA Gecko Platydactylus Hemidactylus Thecadactylus Ptyodactylus Spheriodactylus Stenodactylus Gymnodactylus Phyllurus CHAM/ELEONIDA Chamezleo SCINCOIDEA Scincus Tiliqua Seps Bipes Chalcides Chirotes OPHIDIA ANGUINA | Anguis Pseudopus Ophisaurus Anguis proper Acontias : SERPENTIA Amphisbene Amphisbena vi ‘SYSTEMATIC INDEX. 4» Leposternon 55 Triton 86 Typhlops 56 Menopoma 88 Serpentes proper 56 Amphiuma 88 _ Non-venomous 57 | Axolotus 89 Tortrix 57 Menobranchus 89 Uropeltis 58 Proteus 89 Boa 58 Siren 90 Scytale 60 | PISCES 91 en 60/ ACANTHOPTERYGII 96 So él PERCOIDES 97 a : With thoracic ventrals. - Python 61 1 ¥ AP et Cerberus 61 Seven branchial rays, two . Xenopeltis 62 dorsals. Heterodon 62 Perca 98 Hurvia = Labrax 98 Dipsas 4 Dendtonnig 63 oe ae Dryinus 63 entropomus 99 Dryophis 3 Grammistes 99 + Oligodon 63 Aspro 99 Coluber proper 63 Huro 100 Acrochordus 65 i ee Venomous, with simple fangs 65 ets a Crotalus 66 Diploprion 100 P _, Trigonocephalus — 67 Apogon 100 “ Vipera 68 Cheilodipterus 101 Naia 70 Pomatomus 101 pclepe ; i Ambassis 101 Plane 7 Lucio-Perca 102 Trimeresurus 72 With a single dorsal, Oplocephalus 72 two canine teeth. Saeer nop his ie Serranus 102 Echis “ Serranus proper Langaha 72 Anthias ae 103 Venomous, with fangs & other Merra - 103 teeth 72 Plectropoma 105 Bungarus 3 Diacope 105 : Hydrus 73 Mesoprion 105 Hydrophis 73 With a single dorsal, re * 73 teeth small and oe Cc ersy digs a crowded. “i: Cecilia 74 oe ; me BATRACHIA 76 EYP ES 106 olyprion 106 nae tit) me Centropristis 107 Gertupies 80 ; Gristes roy Dactylethra 80 With less than seven Hyla 80 branchial branches. ‘ Bufo 81 A single dorsal, two i, anal y canine teeth. inelius " 9 Otilophis 84 ope . er Breviceps 84 A single dorsal, teeth Pipa 84. small and crowded. Salamandra 85 Chironemus 108 Salamandra proper 85 Pomotis 108 , SYSTEMATIC. INDEX: *, Centrarchus Priacanthus Dules Therapon Datnia Pelates Helotes With two dorsals. Trichodon Sillago With more than seven branchial rays. Holocentrum Myripristis Beryx Trachicthys With jugular ventrals. Trachinus Percis Pinguipes Percophis Uranoscopus With abdominal ventrals. Polynemus Sphyrena Paralepis Mullus Mullus proper Upeneus © BUCCZ LORICATZ Trigla Trigla proper Prionotus Peristedion Dactylopterus Cephalacanthus Cottus Cottus proper Aspidophorus Hemitripterus - Hemilepidotus Platycephalus : Scorpena Scorpena proper Tenianotes Sebastes Pterois Blepsias Apistus Agriopus Pelor Synanceia , Monocentris Gasterosteus Oreosoma 108 | 108 108 109 109 109 109 109 110 111 SCIENOIDES With two dorsals. Scizena Scizna proper Otolithus Ancylodon Coryvina Johnius Umbrina Pogonias ques With one dorsal, seven pron: chial rays. Hemulon Pristipoma Diagramma Less than seven branchial rays, and the lateral line continuous. Lobotes r Cheilodactylus Scolopsides Micropterus Less than seven branchial rays, and the lateral line interrupted. Amphiprion Premnas Pomacentrus Dascyllus Glyphisodon Heliasus SPAROIDES Sparus Sargus Chrysophris Pagrus Pagelus Dentex Pentapoda Lethrinus Boops Oblada MENIDES Mena Smaris Cesio Gerres SQUAMIPENNES Chetodon Cheztodon proper Chelmon Heniochus Ephippus Taurichtes * tie SYSTEMATIC INDEX. ad Holacanthus Pomacanthus Platax: a Psettus Pimelepterus Dipterodon Brama Pempheris Toxotes SCOMBEROIDES Scomber Scomber proper Thynnus Orcynus > Auxis Sarda Cybium Thyrsites Gempylus Xiphias Xiphias proper Tetrapturus Makaira Istiophorus | Centronotus Naucrates Elacates Lichia Trachinotus Rhynchobdella Macrognathus Mastacembelus Notacanthus Seriola Nomeus Temnodon Caranx Carangue Citula Vomer Olistus Scyris Blepharis Gallus Argyreiosus Vomer proper Zeus Zeus proper Capros Lampris Equula Mene Stromateus Pamples Peprilus Luvarus Seserinus Kurtus 141 141 ws 142 Coryphena Coryphena proper 159 Caranxomorus 159 Centrolophus 159 Astrodermus 159 Pteraclis 160 TENIOIDES 160 The snout elongated, teeth strong. Lepidopus 160 Trichiurus 161 The snout short, mouth Gymnetrus 161 Stylephorus 163 The snout short, mouth cleft, head obtuse. Cepola 163 Lophotes 163 THEUTYES 164 Siganus 164 Acanthurus 165 Prionurus 165 Naseus 165 Axinurus 166 Priodon 166 LABYRINTHIFORM PHA- RYNGEALS 166 Anabas 166 Polyacanthus 167 Macropodius 167 Helostoma 167 Osphromenus 168 Trichopodus 168 Spirobranchus 168 Ophicephalus 169 MUGILOIDES 169 Mugil 170 Tetragonurus 171 Atherina 172 GOBIOIDES 17S. Blennius 173 Blennius proper 174 Pholis 174 Myxodes 175 Salaris 175 Clinus W775 Cirrhibarba 176 Murdenoides 176 Opistognathus 176 Zoarcus 176 Anarrhichas o 177 Gobius Wikre Gobius proper 178 Gobioides 179 Tenioides 179 158 a Pep - SYSTEMATIC INDEX. « Periopthalmus Eleotris s Callionymus Trichonotus Comephorus Platypterus Chirus PECTORALES PEDICU- LATI Lophius Lophius proper Chironectes Malthe Batrachus LABROIDES Labrus ; Labrus proper Cheilinus Lachnolaimus Julis Anampses Crenilabrus Coricus Epibulus Clepticus Gomphosus Xirichthys Chromis Cychla Plesiops Malacanthus Scarus Calliodon Odax FISTULARID A Fistularia Fistularia proper Aulostomus Centriscus Centriscus proper Amphisile ~MALACOPTERYGII AB- DOMINALES- CYPRINIDE Cyprinus Cyprinus proper Barbus Gobio Tinca Cirrhinus Abramis Labeo Catostomus Leuciscus Chela Gonorhynchus Cobitis Anableps 180 | * Pecilia 180 | © Lebias 181" Fundulus 182 Molinesia 182 Cyprinidon 182 ESOCES 183 Esox Esox proper 183 Galaxias 183 7 Alepocephalus 184. Microstoma | 184. ‘ Stomias- 4185 Chauliodus 185 | Salanx 186 Belone ‘Scomberesox 187 Hemiramphus reg Exocetus 188 Mormyrus 189 _ SILURIDE % E 190 Silurus 190 | Silurus proper 191 Schilbe 191 Mystus 191 Pimelodus 192 Bagrus ; 192 Pimelodus proper Ee Synodontis 193 Ageniosus 194 Doras 194 Heterobranchus 194 Macropteronotes 195 Plotosus 5 195 Callichthys 195 Malapterurus 196 Platystacus 196 Loricaria 196 Hypostomus 197 Loricaria proper 197 SALMONIDES 197 Salmo Salmo proper 198 Osmerus 198 Mallotus 198 Thymallus 199 Coregonus 200 Argentina 301 Characinus 201 Curimata 201 Anostomus 901 Gasteropelecus 202 Piabucus 502 Serrasalmus 2 02 Tetragonopterus 903 Chalceus 203 Myletes 3 5 Hydrocyon 204 Citharinus 205 Saurus w SYSTEMATIC INDEX. Scopelus Aulopus Sternoptyx CLUPEZ Clupea Clupea proper Alosa Chatoessus Odontognathus Pristigaster Notopterus Engraulis Thryssa Megalops Elops Butirinus Chirocentrus Hyodon Erythrinus Amia Sudis Osteoglossum Lepisosteus Polypterus MALACOPTERYGII SUB- RACHIATI GADITES Gadus Morrhua Merlangus Merluccius Lota Motella Brosmius Brotula Phycis Raniceps Macrourus PLANI Pleuronectes Platessa Hippoglossus Rhombus Solea Monochirus - Acbirus Plagusia DISCOBOLI Lepadogaster Lepadogaster pro- per Gobiesox Cyclopterus Lumpus Liparis Echeneis MALACOPTERYGII APODES 232 232 233% 933 250 250 252 252 253 253 253 253 253 254 254 254 255 255 256 ANGUILLIFORMES Murena Anguilla Anguilla pro- per — * Conger Ophisurus Murezna proper Spagebranchus Monopterus Synbranchus Alabes Saccopharynx xe Gymnotus . Gymnotus proper Carapus Sternarchus Gymnarchus Leptocephalus Ophidium Ophidium proper Fierasfer Ammodytes ~ - | LOPHOBRANCHIL Syngnathus Syngnathus proper Hippocampus Solenostomus Pégasus PLECTOGNATHI GYMNODONTES Diodon Tetraodon Cephalus Triodon SCLERODERMI Balistes Balistes proper Monocanthus Aluteres Triacanthus Ostracion CHONDROPTERYGII With free branchiz. STURIONES Acipenser Spatularia Chimera Chimera proper Oalorhyn aa With fixed branchiz. SELACHIL Squalus Scyllium Squalus proper Carcharias Lamna Galeus + SYSTEMATIC INDEX. Mustelus Notidanus Selache Cestracion # Spmax Centrina Scymnus Zygena Squatina Pristis Raia Rhinobatus Rhina Torpedo Raia proper Trygon Anacanthus Myliobatis Rhinoptera Cephaloptera SUCTORII Petromyzon Myxine Heptatremus Gastrobranchus MOLLUSCA CEPHALOPODA Sepia Octopus Polypus of Arist. Eledon of Arist. Argonauta Bellerophon Loligo _ Loligopsis Loligo proper Onychotheuthis Sepiola Chondrosepia Sepia proper Nautilus Spirula Nautilus proper Lituus Belemnites Act * inocamax monites Ammonites proper Planites Ceratites Orbulites Scaphites Baculites Hamites Turrilites Camerines Siderolithes 286 287 287 287 288 288 288 289 290 290 290 291 pe29 1 292 292 294 294. 295 295 295 296 297 298 | 298 299 303 306 308 309 309 309 309 } 310 310 311 311 311 311 311 312 312 312 sls} 314 314 315 315 315 315 315 315 316 316 316 316 316 317 ~ Helicostega Helicostega nautiloidea Helicostega ammonoida Helicostega turbinoida Stycostega FEnallostega Agathistega Entomostega PTEROPODA Clio Cymbul ia Pneumodermon Limacina Hyalea Cleodora Cleodora proper Creseis Cuvieria Psyche Eurybia Pyrgo GASTEROPODA PULMONEA Pucmonea TERRESTRIA Limax Limax proper Arion Lima Vaginulus Testacella Parmacella Helix Helix proper Vitrina Bulimus Bulimus pro- per Pupa Chondrus Succinea Clausilia Achatina PuLMoNEA AQUATICA Onchidium Planorbis Limnzus Physa Scarabzus Auricula Conovulus NUDIBRANCHIATA Doris Onchidora Plocamoceros Polycera’*'’" Tritonia xi SYSTEMATIC INDEX. + Thethys Scyllea Glaucus Laniogerus Eolidia Cayolina Flabellina Tergipes Busiris Placobranchus INFEROBRANCHIATA Phyllidia Diphyllidia TECTIBRANCHIATA Pleurobranchus Pleurobranchea Aplysia Dolabella Notarchus Bursatella Akera Bullea Bulla Akera proper Gastropteron Gastroplax HETEROPODA Pterotrachea Carinaria Atlanta Firola Timorienna Monophora Phylliroe PECTINIBRANCHIATA TrocHorpAa Trochus Tectarium Calcar Rotella Cantharis Infundibulum Telescopium Trochus Solarium Evomphalus Turbo Turbo proper Delphinula Pleurotoma Turritella Scalaria Cyclostoma Valvata Paludina Littorina © Monodon Phasianella 362 Ampullaria 362 Lanista oe Helicina Ampulliie 363 Olygira 363 Melania 363 Rissoa | 363 Melanopsis 363 Pirena 364. Actzon 364 Pyramidella 364 Janthina 364 Nerita 365 Natica 365 Nerida proper 365 Velata 365 Neritina 365 Clithon 366 CApuLOIDA 366 Capulus 366 | Hipponyx 366 Crepidula 367 Pileolus 367 Septaria 367 Calyptrea 368 Siphonaria 368 | Sigaretus 368 Coriocella seu Cryptostoma 369 | Buccinompa 369 Conus 370 Cyprea 370 Ovula’ S71. Ovula proper 371 Volva 371 Terebellum 371 Voluta 372 Oliva B79) Volvaria Bu) Voluta proper 373 Cymbium 373 Voluta 373 Marginella 373 Colombella 373 Mitra 374 Cancellaria 374 aa Buccinum 374 Bucecinum proper 374 Nassa 375 Eburna 375 Ancillaria 375 Dolium 375 Dolium proper 376 Perdix 376 Harpa 376 Purpura 376 Monoceros 376 « Ricinula Concholepas Cassis Morio ~~ Terebra Cerithium 3 Potamida “Murex Murex Murex proper Brontis Typhis Chichoracea Aquilla Lotorium Tritonium Trophona Ranella Apolles Fusus Fusus proper Lathira Struthiolaria Pleurotoma Clavatula Pyrula Fulgur . Fasciolaria Turbinella Strombus Strombus proper Pterocera Rostellaria Hippocrenes TUBULIBRANCHIATA Vermetus Magilus Siliquaria SCUTIBRANCHIATA Halyotis .. Halyotis proper Padolla Stomatia Fissurella Emarginula Parmophorus CYCLOBRANCHIATA Patella Chiton ACEPHALA _TE CEA O ACEA Acarda Radiolites Spherulites Calceola Hippurites Batolithes Ostrea Ostrea proper VoL. II.—(3) 377 377 377 377 378 378 378 379 379 379 379 379 379 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 381 381 381 381 381 381 381 382 382 382 382 382 383 383 SYSTEMATIC INDEX. Gryphza Pecten Lima Pedum Hinnita Plagiostoma Pachytes Dianchora Podopsis * Anomia Placuna Spondylus Plicatula Malleus Vulsella Perna Crenatula Gervilia Inoceramus Catillus Pulvinites ‘theria Avicula Pintadina Avicula proper Pinna Arca Arca proper Cucullea Pectunculus Nucula Trigonia MYTILAcEA Mytilus Mytilus proper Modiolus Lithodomus Anodonta Tridina Dipsas Unio Hyria Castalia Cardita Cypricardia Coralliophaga Venericardia Crassatella CHAMACEA Chama Tridacna Tridacna pro- per Hippopus Chama proper Diceras ee Isocardia CARDIACEA, SYSTEMATIC Cardium Hemicardium Donax Cyclas Cyrena Cyprina Galathea Corbis Tellina Loripes Lucina Venus Venus proper Astarte Cytherea Capsa Petricola Corbula, Mactra Mactra proper Layignon INCLUSA Mya Lutraria Mya proper Anatina Solemya Glycymeris Panopea Pandora Byssomia Hiatella Solen Solen proper Sanguinolaria Psammobia Psammothea Pholas Teredo Fistulana Gastrochena Teredina Clavagella Aspergillum ACEPHALA NUDA SEGREGATA Biphora Thalia Biphora proper Ascidia AGGREGATA Botryllus Pyrosoma Polyclinum BRACHIOPODA Lingula Terebratula INDEX. 412 | - Spirifer 442 Thecidea 412 Orbicula | 413 Discina 413 Crania - AL3 CIRRHOPODA Anatifa Pollicipes Cineras Otion Tetralasmis Balanus Balanus proper Acasta Conia Asema Pyrgoma Octhosia Creusia Coronula Tubicinella Diadema ARTICULATA ANNULATA TUBICOLA Serpula Spirorbis Sabella Terebella Amphitrite Syphostoma Dentalium DORSIBRANCHIATA Arenicola Amphinome Chloeia Pleione Euphrosine Hipponoe Eunice Lysidice Aglaura Nereis Phyllodoce Alciopa , Spio Syllis Glycera _ Neph Lumbrine Aricia - Hesione © shelina C rrhatulus Palmyra Aphrodita Halithea ¥ sy SYSTEMATIC INDEX. oe ; ; Polynoe 461 Hirudo a Sigalion 462 Sanguisuga YS Acoetes 462 ~ Hemopis é Pep ierus 462 Bdella ABRANCHIATA 463 Nephelis ABRANCHIATA SETIGERA 463 Trochetia Lumbricus 463 Aulastoma Lumbricus proper 463 Branchiobdella Enterion 464 Hemocharis Hypogzon 464 Albiona ! Trophonia 464 Branchellion Nais 465 Payee Pee a ASETIGERA ae Mp eeandel . 2 Gordius bw ; Ai ~ KV 466 467 467 467 467 468 468 468 468 469 469 469 469 469 470 wert tanbat A * pitsedentanen? altatoctan i: Wr }. alone} a! = 2 witness - ensiiailt Mabvoslote » > ee Mitrroe } + Sy herirvisA seme dtp, MONTE FIRST GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. CLASS Ill, * REPTILIA. The disposition of the heart in Reptiles is such, that at each contraction, a portion only of the blood it has received from the different parts of the body is transmitted to the lungs, the remainder returning to those parts without having passed through the pulmonary organs, and without having respired. The result of this is, that the action of oxygen upon the blood is less than in the Mammalia, and that if the quantity of respiration in the latter, in which all the blood is compelled to pass through the lungs before it returns to the rest of the body, be expressed by a unit, that of Reptiles will be ex- pressed by a fraction of a unit, so much the smaller, as the quantity of blood transmitted to the heart at each contraction is less. As it is from respiration that the blood derives its heat, and the fibre its susceptibility of nervous irritation, the blood of reptiles is cold, and the muscular energy less than that of Quadrupeds, and much less than that of Birds; thas we find their movements usually confined to crawling and swimming ; for, though at certain times several of them jump and run with considerable activity, their habits are generally lazy, their digestion excessively slow, and their sensations obtuse. Vou. IL—A 2 REPTILIA. In cold or temperate climates almost all of them pass the win- ter ina state of torpor. Their brain, which is proportionally very small, is not so essentially requisite 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, for they continue to live and to exhibit volun- tary motions, long after losing their brain, and even after the loss of their head. A communication with the nervous sys- tem is also much less necessary to the contraction of their fibres, and their muscles preserve their irritability 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 resemble simple sacs with scarcely any appearance of cells. 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 capable 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 several 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 Batrachie, 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 branchie of Fishes, and some of its genera Dsl REPTILIA. 3 preserve these organs, even after the development of their lungs. In several oviparous reptiles, the Colubers particu- larly, the young animal in the egg is formed and considerably advanced at the moment of its exit from the mother; and there are even some species which may be rendered viviparous by simply retarding that epoch.(1) 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 more than Frogs, &e.; and hence a much greater difference of sensibility and energy than can exist between one of the Mammalia and ano- ther, or between Birds. Reptiles accordingly present an infinitely greater variety of forms, motions, and properties than are to be found in the two preceding classes, and it is in their production that Nature seems to have amused herself by imagining the most fantastic shapes, and by medifying 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 into four orders,(2) viz. The Cuevonta, or Tortoises, whose heart has two auri- cles, and whose body, supported by four feet, is enveloped by two plates or bucklers formed by the ribs and sternum. The Savuria, or Lizarps, whose heart has two auricles, and whose body, supported by ais or two feet, is covered with scales. The Opuipia, or SERPENTS, whose heart has two auricles, and whose body always remains deprived of feet. The Barracuia, whose heart has but one auricle, and whose body is naked, most of which pass, with age, from the (1) The Colubers, for instance, when deprived of water, as proved by the ex- periments of M. Geoffroy. (2) Al. Brogniart, Essai d’wne Classification Naturelle des Reptiles, Paris, 1805, and in the Mém. des Savants Etrang., tom. 1, p. 587. 4 REPTILIA. form of a Fish respiring by branchiz, to that of a Quadruped breathing by lungs. Some of them, however, always retain their branchie, and a few have never more than two feet.(1) ORDER I. CHELONIA. The Chelonia, better known by the name of Tortoises, have a heart composed 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 al- lows no part to project except their head, neck, tail, and four feet. The shell (or upper shield) is formed by the ribs, of which there are eight pair, widened and reunited by denticu- lated sutures, and with plates adhering to the annular portion of the dorsal vertebra, so that all these parts are rendered fixed and immovable. ‘The inferior shell is formed of pieces, usually nine in number, analogous to a sternum.(2) A frame composed of bony pieces, which have been considered as pos- sessing some analogy with the sternal or cartilaginous portion (1) 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 dis- tribution which is founded on some peculiarities in the organization of Crocodiles, and on a certain resemblance of Anguis to the Lizards. We merely indicate these affinities, which are almost wholly internal, preferring a division more easily applied. (2) See Geoff. An. du Mus. t. XIV, p. 5; and on the entire osteology of the Tortoises, my Rech. sur les oss. foss. tom. V, 2e partie. [N.B. It is well to re- mark, that I shall hereafter designate the upper shell by the single word shell (testa) and the inferior by sternum. Am. Ed.) CHELONIA. 5 of the ribs, and which in one subgenus always remains in a cartilaginous state, surrounds the shell, uniting and binding to- gether all the ribs which compose it. The vertebre of the neck and tail are ropsotmentty the only ones which are mov- able. These two bony envelopes being immediately covered by the skin or by plates. the scapule 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 ar- rangement is found in the bones of the pelvis and all the mus- cles of the thigh, so that in this respect the Tortoise may be said to be an znverted animal. The vertebral extremity of the scapula is dcisealaued with the shell; 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 cesophagus 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.(1) The thorax, in most of them, being immovable, it is by the play of its mouth that the Tortoise respires, which it effects 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.(2) Tortoises have no teeth ; their jaws are invested with horn like those of Birds; the Ghclyies excepted, where they are wagered with skin only. Their tympanum and palatine arches (1) Observe that in all those reptiles in which the lung penetrates into the ab- domen (and the Crocodile is the only one in which it does not) it is enveloped like the intestines by a fold of the peritoneum, which separates it from the abdomi- nal cavity. (2) With respect to this mechanism, which is common to Tortoises and to the Batrachiang, see the Mem. of Robert Townson, Lond. 1779. 6 REPTILIA. are fixed to the cranium and are immovable; their tongue is short and bristled with fleshy filaments; their stomach simple and strong; their intestines of a moderate length and destitute ofa cecum. 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 were all united by Linneus in the genus Testupo, Lin. They have since been divided into five subgenera, chiefly from the forms and teguments of their shell, and of their feet. Trstupo, Brog.(1) 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 vege- table food. T. greca, L.3 Schepf. pl. viii, ix, is the species most com- mon in Europe; it is found in Greece, Italy, Sardinia, and ap- parently all round the Mediterranean. It is distinguished by its wide and equally arched shell; by its raised scales or plates, -which are granulate in the. centre, striated on the edges, and marbled with large yellow and black spots; and by its poste- rior 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 = the Sep YS Nh a ee (1) Merrem has changed this name into CuErsine. * CHELONIA. t East Indies, of an enormous size, and three feet, and upwards, in length. One of them in particular has been called the Test. indica, Vosm.; Schepf. Tort. pl. xxii. (The India 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; Schepf. x. (The Geometrica. ) A small Tortoise, each plate of whose shell is regularly orna- mented with yellow lines, radiating from a disk of the same colour. ‘ T. radiata, Shaw, Gen. Zool. III, pl. iis and Daud. II, XXVi. (The Coui.) A New Holland species, ornamented with nearly as much regularity as the Geometrica, but which attains a much larger size.(1) In some species, the Pyxis, Bell., the anterior part of the ster- num is movable like that of the Box-Tortoises; others again, the Kryrxys, Id., can move the posterior portion.(2) Emys, Brongn.(3) The fresh-water Tortoises have no other constant characters, by which they can be distinguished from the preceding ones, than the greater separation of the toes, which are terminated by longer nails, and the intervals occupied by membranes; even in this respect there are shades of difference. They likewise have five nails be- fore and four behind. The form of their feet renders their habits more aquatic. Most of them feed on insects, small fishes, &c. Their envelope is generally more flattened than that of the land Tortoises. : (1) Add: 7! stellata, Schepf. XXV;--T. angulata, Schweig;—T. areolata, Sch., XXIN;—T. marginata, Sch. XU, 1, 2;—T. denticulata, Sch., XX VIL, 1;—T- cafra, Schweig;—T. signata, Schw.;—T. carbonaria, Spix, XV1;—T* Hercules, Id. XIV; —T. cagado, 1d. XVU;—-T’ tabulata, Sch., XU1;—T- sculpta, Spix, XV;—T. nigra, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. de Freycin. Zool. XXX VII;—T-. depressa, Cuy.;—T- bigut- tata, \d.;—T. carolina, Le Conte, &c.* (2) See the paper of M. Bell., in the Lin, Trans. Vol. XV, part 2, p. 3925 in two of these Kinixys which we have seen liying, the edges of the joint in the shield were worn away, or as if carious, and to such a degree as to induce a sus- picion that there was something morbid in this conformation, (8) From <¢uus, Tortoise. * This is a mistake of our author; it is the 7’ carolina, Gmel., the 7’ polyphemus of others. Am. Ed. 1 8 REPTILIA. Test. europea, Schn.; T. orbicularis, L.; Schepf. pl. 1(1) (The Fresh-water Tortoise of Europe), is the most universally diffused species; it is found in all the south and east of Europe as far as and in Prussia. Its shell is oval, but slightly convex, tolerably smooth, blackish, and every where dotted with yellow- ish 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, &c. Marsigli says, its eggs are a year in being hatched. Test. picta; Schepf. pl. iv (The Painted Tortoindys 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.(2) Among the fresh-water Tortoises we should remark Tue Box-Torrtoiszs,(3) The sternum of which is divided by a movable articulation into two lids, which, when the head and limbs are withdrawn, com- pletely encase the animal in its shell. In some the anterior lid only is movable.(4) In others both are equally so.(5) (1) It is the same as the verte et jaune, Lacep. pl. vi, and his ronde, pl. v, see the Monog. of this species by M. Bojanus, Vilna, 1819, fol. » » (2) Add Em. lutaria, Lacep., 1V;—Em. Adansonii, Schweig;—Em. senegalensis, Dumer.;—Em. subrufa, Lacep., XI1;—E£m. contracta, Schweig;—Em. punctata, Schepf. V;—Lm. reticulata, Daud. ;—Em. rubriventris, Le Conte;—ELm. serrata, Daud. I, xxi;—Em. concinna, Le Conte, or geometrica, Lesueur;—Em. geogra- phica, Lesueur;—Em. scripta, Schepf., I, 4;—Em. cinerea, Id, 1, 3;—Em. cen- trata, Daud. or terrapen, Schepf., XV;—Em. concentrica, Le Conte;—Em. odorata, Id.;—Em. fusca, Lesueur;—Em. leprosa, Schw.;—Em. nasuta, 1d.;—Em. dorsata, ~ Schepf.;—E£m. pulchella, Schepf., XX VI, or insculpta, Le Conte;—Em. lutescens, Schw.;—Em. expunsa, \d.;—Em. Macquoria, Cuy. M. Fitzinger separates under the name of Cuxtopina, and M. Bell under that of Hypnaspis, those species which have a more elongated neck, such asthe Em. longicollis, Shaw, Gen. Zool. il, part. I, pl. xvi;—Lm. planiceps, Schepf., XX VI, or canuliculata, Spix, VI1;—Em. platicephala, Merrem;—Em. depressa, Spix, 111, 2;—Em. carunculata, Aug. St. Hil. ;—Em. tritentaculata, 1d. (3) This subdivision gave Merrem his genus Ternarenr, Spix his Kryosrrr- non, and Fleming his Cisrupa. The European species, and others already par- take of this movability, which renders the’ task of limiting the oe a difficult matter. _ &) Test. subnigra, I, vii,2;—T. clausa, Schepf., VI. * (5) La Tortue a boite d’ Amboine, Daud. U1, 309;—Test. tricarinala, Schepf., 1;— Test. pennsylvanica;\, d. xxiy. {To which may be added 7’. odorata, Daud. Am. Ed. ] | % © cHELoNIA. 9 # o%5 4 There are some Fresh-water Tortoises, on the contrary, whose long tail and voluminous members cannot be completely retracted within the: shell. This approximates them to the following sub- genera, and particularly to the Chelydes, and renders them conse- quently worthy of distinction.(1) Such is, Test. serpentina, L.; Schepf. pl. vi. (The Snapper.) Easily ia recognised by its tail, which is nearly as long as its shell, and e ' bristled with sharp and dentated crests, and by its pyrami- dically 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. ' Cuetonta, Brongn.(2) The envelope of the Sea Tortoises(3) is too small to receive their head, and particularly their feet, which are very long (the anterior ones most so,) and flattened into fins. The 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 usually lost. The pieces of their sternum do not form a conti- nuous plate, but are variously notched, leaving considerable inter- vals which are filled with cartilage only. The ribs are narrowed and separated from each other at their external extremities; the circum- ference of the shell, however, is surrounded with a circle of pieces corresponding to the ribs of the sternum. The temporal fossa is covered above by anarch formed by the parietal and other bones, so that the whole head is furnished with an uninterrupted osseous helmet. The internal surface of the cesophagus is every where armed with sharp cartilaginous. points which incline towards the stomach. Test. mydas, L.;(4) 7. viridis, Schn.; Lacep. I, 1 (The Green Tortoise), is distinguished by its greenish plates, thirteen in number, which are not arranged like tiles; those of the mid- dle range are almost regular hexagons. It is found from six to seven feet long, and weighing from seven to eight hundred (1) This subdivision has furnished M. Fitzinger with his genus Cuetypra, and M. Fleming with that of Cuzronura. (2) Chelonia, from xtacvy. Merrem has preferred the barbarous name of Ca- RETTA. (8) Commonly, but absurdly, termed Turtle ; they might, with equal propriety, be called Doves. dm. Ed. (4) This name of Mydas was taken by Linneus from Niphus. Schneider con- siders it as a corruption of i «us. Vou. Il.—B 10 REPTILIA. 2 ’ “¥¢ + pounds. Its flesh is highly esteemed, and biareieaie’ a wholesome and palatable supply of food to the mariner in every latitude of the torrid zone. It feeds in large troops on the acaegeedl at the bottom of the’ ocean, and approaches the mouths of rivers to respire. The eggs it deposits in the sand to receive the vivify- ing influence of the sun, are excellent food; its shell is of no value. In a neighbouring species, Chel. maculosa, Nob., the ‘nid plates are twice as long as they are broad, and of a fawn-colour, marked with large black spots. Ina 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 the arts. Test. imbricata, L.; Le Caret; Lac. I, 113 Scheepf. 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 un- wholesome, but the eggs are delicious, and it furnishes the finest kind of shell employed by comb-makers, &c. It inhabits the seas of hot climates. There are also two species which approximate to the imbri- cata, Chel. virgata, Nob.; Bruce, Abyss., pl. xlii, whose plates are less elevated, the middle ones equal, but with more acute lateral angles, and marked in radii with black specks; and Chel. radiata, Schoepf. xvi, B, which only differs from the preceding in the increased breadth of the last middle plate; it is perhaps a mere variety. Test. caretta, Gm.3; La Caouane; Schepf. pl. 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 Jonger and narrower than in the neighbouring species, preserv- ing two larger 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 thename of Spuarcts, those Cheloniz whose shell is destitute of plates, and merely covered with a sort of leather.(1) Such is Lest. coriacea, 1.3; Le Luths Lacep. I, iiis Schcepf. xxviii. A very large species of the Mediterranean. Its shell is oval and pointed behind, he three projecting longitudinal ridges. (1) Fleming calls them Corrupo; Lesueur, Dermocur4s. (2) Add Dermochelis atlantica, Lesueur. CHELONIA. 11 Curnys, Dum.(1) The Chelydes 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 dominant character, however, consists in their mouth, which opens crosswise, being unarmed with the horny beak common to the other Cheloniz, and similar to that of certain Batrachians, the Pipa in particular. Test. fimbria, Gm.; La Matamata; Brug. Journ. d’Hist. Nat. I, xiii; Schepf. xxi. The shell studded with pyramidal eleva- tions, and the body edged all round with a pinked fringe. It is found in Guiana. ; é 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 supported by bones, as the ribs do not extend to the edge of the upper one, and are united with each other only for a portion of their length, the parts analogous to the sternal ribs being simple cartilage, and the sternal pieces’ partially notched as in the sea-tortoises, not covering the whole lower surface. After death, the very rough surface of the ribs may be perceived. through the dried skin. 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 invested externally with fleshy lips, and their nose is prolonged into alittle snout. Their tailis very short. They live in fresh water, and the flexible edges of their shell aid them in swimming. Trionyx xegyptiacus, Geoff. Ann. du Mus. XIV, 1; Test. tri- unguis, Forsk and Gmel. (The Tyrse), 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 mo- ment they leave the egg, and is thus of more utility to Egypt than the Ichneumon.(2) : Test..ferox,Gm.; Phil. Trans., LXI, x, 1—3; cop., Lacep. I, vii; Schepf. xix (The Soft-shelled Tortoise of America), in- habits the rivers of Carolina, Georgia, the Floridas, and of . Guiana. It remains in ambush under roots of reeds, &c. whence it seizes birds, reptiles, &c., devours the young Alligators, (1) Merrem prefers calling this genus by the barbarous name of Maramara. (2) Sonnini, Voy. en Egypte, tom. II, p. 333. 12 REPTILIA. and is devoured in turn by the old ones. Its flesh is highly esteemed.(1) ORDER II. SAURIA.(2) The Saurians have a heart like that of the Cheloniz, com- posed of two auricles and a ventricle, sometimes divided by imperfect partitions. : Their ribs are movable, partly connected with the ster- num, and rise and fall in respiration. . Their lung extends more or less towards the posterior ex- tremity of the body; it frequently penetrates very far into the lower part of the abdomen, whose transverse muscles 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 according to the excite- ment produced in them by their wants or passions. Their eggs are enveloped by a covering more or less hard, and the young always retain the form in which they quit them. 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 all have a tail more or less long, and generally very thick at base: most of them have four legs, a few only having but two. (1) Add T'rionyx javanicus, Geoff. Ann. du Mus. X1V;—T’. carinatus, Id.;—Tr. , stellatus,1d.;—T'r. ewphraticus, Olivier, Voy. en Turquie, &c. pl. xlii;—T’r. gan- geticus, Duyaucel;—T'r. granosus, Leach, or Test. granosa, Schepf. xxx, A and B. N.B. The Tortue de Bartram, Voy. Am. Sept. tr. fr. I, pl. 2, appears to me to be the T° ferox, to which, through a mistake, two nails too many haye been added to each foot. (2) From zaupss, (Lizard) animals analogous to Lizards. SAURIA. 13 Linneus included them all in two genera, the Dragons and the Lizarps: but it has been found necessary to divide the latter into several, 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 in several families. us FAMILY I. CROCODILIDA. This family containsgghe single genus Crocopiuus, Br. Crocodiles are large animals, with a tail flattened on the sides, five toes before and four behind, of which only the three internal os ones on each foot are armed with, nails, all more or less united by membranes; a single range of pointed teeth in each j jaw; the tongue fleshy, flat, and adhering close toits edges; a circumstance which in- duced the ancients to believe that they had none;} the back and tail covered with very stout, large, square scales or plates, relieved bya 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 the 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 appears to be movable, and has been so described by the ancients; it only moves, however, with the entire head. They have the power of closing the external ear by means of two fleshy lips, and there are three lids to their eyes. Six small holes, orifices of as many glands, may be observed under the throat, from which issues a kind of musk-scented pomatum. The vertebrz 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; con- sequently it is easy to escapefrom them by pursuing a zig-zag direc- tion, or by running 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 14 REPTILIA. & ° oe 3 reaching 1o the spine, and which appear to be produced by the ossi- fication of the tendinous inscriptions of the recti muscles. Their lungs'do not dip into the abdomen like those of other rep- tiles, and some fleshy fibres, adhering to that part of the peritoneum which covers the liver, give them the appearance of a diaphragm, which, in conjunction with the division of their heart into three chambers, where the blood from the lungs does not mingle so per- fectly with that from the body as in other reptiles, appproximates 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 Crocodiles are considered, of all animals, those which present the greatest difference in size. The females keep careful watch over their eggs, and tenderly protect their young for some months. They inhabit fresh water, are extremely ferocious and car- niyorous, cannot swallow under watery but drown their prey, and place it in some submerged crevice of a rock, where they allow it to putrefy before they eat it.(1) . “- 4 The species, which are more numerous than they were thought to be previous to my observations, arg Teenage three distinct sub- genera. i % ' “ ¥ 4 % I GaviaL, Cuv. The muzzle slender and very long; the teeth deoriy equals ifs | 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 in only the eastern continent.. The most common is, » * Lac. gangetica, Gm.; Gavial du Gange; Faujas, Hist. de la Mont.’ de St Pierre, pl. xlvi3 Lacep. I, xv. A species which attains a great size, and which, besides the length of its muzzle, is remarkable for a stout cartilaginous prominence which encir- cles its nostrils, and then inclines backwards.(2) . (1) Crocodiles differ so much from Lizards that several authors haye recently thought it proper to form them into a separate order. They are the Lorrcata, Merrem and Fitzinger; the Emyposaunrra, Blainyv. “pales | (2) This prominence is the foundation of #lian’s remark (Hist. an. LXII, c. 41), that the Ganges produces Crocodiles which have a horn on the end of the te See its figure and description by Geoff. St anit Mém. du Mus. fat p- 9 Add, the Petit Gavial (Croc. tenuirostris, Gov), Faujas, loc. cit. pl. xlviii, should it prove to be a distinct species. N.B. The calcareous schist of Bavaria has produced a small fossil Gavial of a e % # ' Ssatitra...™ 15 CrocopiLEs,(1) properly so called. Have an oblong and depressed muzzle, unequal teeth, the fourth ones below 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 ’E- eypte, Rep. Il, 1; Ann. Mus. X, iii, 1; Cuv. Ib. X, pl. 1, f. 5 and 11, f. 7,,and Oss. foss. V, part 2, same plate and figure (The Crocodile of the Nile), so celebrated among the ancients, has six rows of square and nearly equal plates along the whole length of the back.(2) Mi peculiar species, described by Semmering in the Mem. of the Acad. of Munich, of 1814. # ; I haye described the crania and other parts of fossil Crocodiles allied to the Gayials 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 exist- ence. See Oss. foss. V, part 2. Similar observations haye 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 Tuerzxosaurus and Srenrosaurus, notwith- standing which, he appears to think they may be the stock of the present Gavials, and that the said differences may have resulted from atmospheric changes. Mem. du Mus., XII. (1) Kpexoderros, which fears the shore, 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. If. Merrem has changed the name of this subgenus to that of Cuamrsrs, which, according to’ » Herodotus, was the Egyptian name of this animal. (2) 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, and others, a difference in the plates or scales which coyer 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 trans- verse 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 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. dacwnosus, an individual spe- cimen which only presented two scales behind the cranium, and six plates in the shield; and, finally, another specimen whose characters are referable to some proportions of the head, Croc. complanatus. These yarious 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, 5 > 4. of . te 16 REPTILIA. Croc. biporcatus, Cuv.; Le Crocodile a a deux arétes, Ann. Mus. X,1, 4 and 11, 8, and Oss. foss. 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. 4 te ? & Croc. acutus, Cuv.; Crocodile 4 museau effilé, Geoff. Ann. Mus. — Il, xxxvii, has a longer’ muzzle, arched a bases the dorsal plates arranged in four lines; the external ones disposed irre- gularly, and with more salient ridges. .From St Domingo and the other great Antiles. The female places her eggs under ground, and uncovers them at the moment they are about to be hatched.(1) 4 : ; $ + Atiicaror, Cuy.(2) & at Alligators have a broad obtuse muzzle and unequal teeth, the OO reo, that I dare not elevate the Crocodiles sent from Bengal by M. Duvaucel Phy 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 named. He supposes that the variety or species with the nar- row 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 appellation. Onthe contrary, I think I haye proved, both by Aristotle and Cicero, that the Crocodiles venerated by the Egyptians were not less ferocious than the . others; itis 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. Geoff- roy himself, it appears that the three embalmed Crocodiles now in Paris are not. the Suchus, but the complanatus, 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 Jpis was the name of the sacred bull at Memphis, and Mnevis that of the bull of Hermopolis. "With respect to this point of ancient history, see the various writings of M. Geoffroy, and particularly in the great work on Egypt, as well as my Oss. foss. tom. 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. (1) The Croc. acutus has been secu observed by M. Desiourits —Add the Croc. rhombifer, Cuv. Ann. Mus. XIU, pl. 1, 1;—the Croc. d casque (C. galeatus). Perrault, Mém. pour servir a ’Hist. des An. pl. Ixiv, if it should prove (being only known by this figure) a constant species;—the Croc. biseutatus, Cuy. Ann. Mus. X, 11, 6, and Oss. foss., t. V, part 2, pl. 11, f.6, of which only one or two agus have ever been secnipxthe Croc. Pees Cuy. Oss. foss. V, part 1, pl. v, f. Land 2. (2) Or Caiman, the name given to Crocodiles by the negroes of Guinea. The Hote SAURIA. 17 fourth lower ones entering into holes in the upper jaw, and not into notches; their feet are only semi-palmate and without emargination. They have hitherto only been certainly found in America. _ Croc. sclerops, Schn.; Seb. I, civ, 103; 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.(1) Croc. lucius, Cuv.; Caiman @ museau de brochet, Ann. Mus. X, 1, 8 and 15, and II, 4, 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 in severe winters, and remains torpid. The female deposits her eggs in alternate layers with beds of earth.(2) ¢ French colonists employ it to designate the species of Crocodile most common about their plantations, The word Alligator is used by the English and Dutch colonists in the same sense. It isa corruption of the Portuguese word Lagarto, which is itself derived from Lacerta. (1) 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 com- mon one, perhaps form distinct species, but difficult to characterize. Some of them have a shorter and more rounded muzzle; the transyerse ridge concave 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 bends that are yellowish, as in the Jacaré noir, Spix, pl. 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. /issipes of Spix, pl. 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, pl. ii! That gentleman, unfortunately, has not insisted upon the characters drawn from the transverse ridge. (2) See the paper of Dr Harlan, Ac, of Nat. Sc. of Philad. IV, 242.—Add the Caiman a paupieres osseuses, (Croc. palpebrosus, Cuy.) Ann. Mus. X, pl. 1, 6 and 7 and 11, 2; and the Croc. trigonatus, Schn., Seb., I, cy, 3; or the Jucaretinga mos- chifer, Spix, pl. i. The whole thickness of the eye-lid in this species is occupied by three osseous lamellz, of which, in other Crocodiles, there 1s scarcely a vestige, VoL. Il.—C 18° REPTILIA. FAMILY II. LACERTINIDA.(1)_ This family is distinguished by the tongue, which is thin, extensible, and terminates in two threads, like that of the Coluber and Viper; the body is elongated; the walk rapid; each foot has five toes separate and unequal, the hind ones particularly so, all armed with nails; the scales on 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 membranous. A production of the skin with a lon- gitudinal 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. © Moniror, by a singular error called Tupryamsis.(2) This genus contains species of the largest sizes’ they have two teeth in both jaws, but none in the palate; the greater number are recognized 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 whistling they give notice of the approach of these dangerous ani- mals. This report is most probably the origin of the term Sauve- garde or Monitor applied to some of their species, but the fact is — very uncertain. They are divided into two very distinct groups. The first, or that of the Monirors, properly so called, Is known by numerous and small scales on the head and limbs, (1) Lacerta, a Lizard. (2) Marcgrave, speaking of the Sauvegarde of America, says that it is called Teyu-guacu, and among the Tupinambous, Temapara (‘Temapara tupinambis). Seba has mistaken the latter name for that of the animal, and all other naturalists _ have copied it from him. ‘SAURIA. 19 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.(1) Two species are found in Egypt which may be considered as the types of two subdi- visions. Lac. nilotica, L.3; Monitor du Nil.; Ouaran of the Arabs; Mus. Worm. 313; Geoff. St. Hil., great work on Egypt; Rep. pl. 1, f. 1. Strong conical teeth,:the posterior of which become round- ed by age; brown, with pale and deeper coloured dots, forming various compartments, among which we observe transverse rows of large ocellated spots that become rings on the tail. The lat- ter round at base is traversed 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 ancient inhabitants, and possibly, because it devours the eggs of the Crocodile.(2) The other species, Lac. scincus, Merr.; Monitor terrestre @ Egypte; Ouaran el hard of the Arabs, Geoffr. Egypt. Rept. III, f. 2, has compress- ed, trenchant, and pointed teeth; the tail almost without a keel and round much farther from the root; its habits are more ter- restrial, and it is common in the deserts in the vicinity of Egypt. The jugglers of Cairo, after extracting its teeth, employ it in their art. It is the Land Crocodile of Herodotus, and as Pros- per Albin remarks, the true Scincus of the ancients. (3) 4 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 Zac. nilotica. The one most common in the Indian archipelago is the Lac. bivittata, Kuhl, 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 a 385 (1) Seba, and from him Daudin, describe some true Monitors as American; it is ‘a mistake. (2) 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. orné (M. ornatus, Daud.), Ann. Mus. I, xlviii, Lac. capensis, Sparm. and the M, albogularis, Daud. Rept. IH, pl. xxxii. It is from this subdivision that M. Fitzinger has made his genus Varanvs, under which name Merrem comprized all the Monitors. (3) This species constitutes the genus Psammosaunvus of M. Fitzingcr. 20 REPTILIA. white on the breast which reaches obliquely over the shoulder. Specimens have been found three feet in length.(1) In the other group of the Monitors, there are angular plates on the head, 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.(2) This group | is also susceptible of subdivi- sions: the first forms the genus __ CrocopiLurvus, Spix,(3) Whose distinguishing character consists in scales relieved by ridges, as in the Crocodiles, forming crests on the tail, which is com- pressed. Mon. crocodilinus, Merr.; La Grande Dragonne, Lacep. Quadr. Ovip. pl. ix, has ridged scales scattered also along the back. Its back teeth become rounded with age. Itattains a length of six feet, and lives in burrows near marshes. Found in Guiana, where its flesh is eaten. Lac. bicarinata, L.; Le Lezardet, Daud.; Crocodilurus amazon- icus, Spix, pl. xxi, is smaller, and has none of the aforesaid kind of scales on the back. It is found in several parts of South America. In the second, or SAUVEGARDEs, Cuy.—Te1us, Merr. None of the scales of the back and tail carinate: the teeth are notched, but with age the back ones also become rounded.(4) a 4 (1) With this species, from the distribution of colours, are connected the 7. bigaré, Daud. (Lac. varia, Shaw, Nat. Misc. 83, J. White, 253);—a neighbouring, “species of Manilla (M. marmoratus, C.):—the T'. elegant and the 7. etoilé, Daud. WJ, xxxi, and Seb., I, xcxiy, 1,,2,; 3, xcxviil, xcix, 2; Ul, xxx, 2, xc, cv, 1, &c. all of which are but one species, originally from Africa. We must add the 7° cepedien, Daud. III, xxiv, or Lac. exunthematica, Bosc., Act. Soc. Nat. Par. pl. v, f. 3, ocellated throughout;—the M. dotted with brown of Bengal (M. bengalensis, Daub.);—the black M. spotted with green of the Moluccas (I. 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, pl. ci, f. 1, of which Linnzus made his Lacerta dracena, 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 Turinamais. (2) Merrem has made his genus Terts from this second group. (3) M. Gray has changed this name into Apa. (4) Itis to such that M. Fitzinger particularly applies the name of Mowrror. > SAURIA. 21 ' Some of them, more particularly termed SauvecARDEs, 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 is Lac. teguixin, Lin. and Shaw; Le Grande Sauvegarde d’Ame- riques Teyu-guazu; Témapara, &c.3 Seb. I, xcvi, 1, 2, 3, xcvil, 5, xcix, 1. Yellow dots and spots disposed in transverse bands, -ona black ground above, and a yellowish one beneath; yellow and black bands on the tail.(1) Found in Guiana, where it at- tains 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 insects, reptiles, eggs, &c., and lays in holes which it excavates in the sand. Both flesh and eggs are edible.(2) : Others, called Amervas(3) only differ from the preceding in the tail, 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 of Europe; but besides the want of mo- lars, 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 Euro- pean Lizards, and they have not, like the latter, a bony plate on the orbit. Several species have been confounded under the name of Za- certa ameiva, some of which it is still very difficult to distin- guish. The most common, Zeyus 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. “2 There is another, 7'eyus cyaneus, Merr.; Lacep., I, xxxi, Seb. I, 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 7 2 ” . ( 1) Dried specimens, of 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 repre- sented 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. (2) Add the T'upin. « taches vertes of Daud., if it be not a’simple variety of Sauve- garde. Spix calls it Z'wp. monitor, pl. xix; it is vee T. nigropunctatus, which is the true Sauvegarde. (3) According to Marcgrave, the term Ameiva designates a Lizard with a forked tail, a.cireumstance 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 indi- vidual to his Turaguira, which, from his description, is rather a Polychrus. " ae * REPTILIA. same subdivision, have blackish stripes on the sides of the back, a fact worth remembering to avoid an undue multiplication of is # 4 Species.(1) * We may separate from the Ameivas certain species, all the scales of whose belly, legs, and tail, are carinated(2) and others in which even those on the back are similarly relieved, so that the flanks only are granulated.(3) A collar under the neck also approximates these species to the lizards.(4) The LAcERTA, properly so called, Or true Lizards, form the second genus of the Lacertians. The ex- tremity of their palate is armed with two rows of teeth, and they are otherwise distinguished from the Ameivas and Sauvegardes 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 throats 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. (1) Such, it appears to me, is the Teyus ocellifer, Spix, xxv. Add the Am. litterata, Daud. Seb., I, lxxxiii;—Am. ceruleocephala, Id. Seb. I, xci, 3;—.4m. lateristriga, Cuv. Seb. I, xc, 7;—.4m. lemniscata (Lacert. lemnis, Gm.), Seb. I, xcii, 4;—T'eius triteniatus, Spix, xxi, 2;—7" cyanomelas, Pr. Max. Liv. v. [Add 4m. sez-lineata, Catesb. 68. Am. 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 4m. argus, Seb. I, Ixxxv, 3, is the Mon. cepedien; his goitreux, Seb- II, ciii, 3, 4, does not differ fr the litterata; finally, his ¢éte rouge, Seb. I, xci, 1,.2, is a common Green ial He was probably led into error by the coloured: plates of Seba. The Lae. S-li- neata appears to me to be a L. ceruleocephala, 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 with- out vertebrz. It is impossible to characterize species by similar accidental cir cumstances, as Merrem has done in his J'eyus monitor and eyaneus: (2) 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 Centroprx of Spix, XXII,.2. (3) The Lezard strié of Surinam, Daud., Il, p: 347, of which Fitzinger makes his genus Psruno-Ametya. (4) 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. Fitzinger makes a genus (Trrvus) of the Lézard teyou, Daud. which should have but four toes to the hind feet; its only foundation, however, is an imperfect description of Azzara, and it does not seem to me sufficiently authentic. , SAURIA. 23. They are very numerous. Europe produces several species — confounded by Linnzus under the name of Lacerta agilis. The most beautiful is the Grand Lézard vert ocellé,—Lac. ocellata, Daud.; Lacep., I, xx; Daud. III, xxxiii, from the south of France, Spain, and Italy. It is more than afoot long, with lines. of black dots, forming rings or eyes and a kind of embroidery; the young according to M. Edwards is the Lezard gentil, Daud., III, xxxi. The Zac. viridis, Daud., III, xxxiv, of which the Lac. bilineata, Id. xxxvi, 1, according to the same gentleman, is a variety;—the Zac. sepium, Id. Ib. 2, of which the Lac. are- nicola, Id., xxxviil, 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 Vosquien, Daud. xxxvi, 2, and some new species.(1) Axeyra, Cuy. 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 im- bricated. The collar is wanting.(2) Tacuypromus,(3) Daud. Square and carinated scales on the back, under the belly, and on the tail; no collar nor femoral pores, but on each side of the anus is a small vesicle opening by one of the latter. The tongue still like that of the Lizards, and the body and tail very much elongated. FAMILY III. vi", IGUANIDA.(4) . yi°8 : This third great family of Saurians possesses the general form, long tail, and free and unequal toes of the Lacertians ; (1) I add, but with hesitation, the Lac. cericea, Laur., 11,5; argus, Id. 5; ¢er- restris, Id., 111; 5. The tiliguerta of Daudin is made up of an American Amei- ya and the green Lizard of Sardinia, from a bad description by Cetti. The ceru- leocephala, the lemniscqta, the quinquelineata, are Ameivas. The sexlineata, Catesb., XLVI, isa Seps. _N.B. With due submission to our author, this appears to be a mistake, the sex- lineata, Catesb., is most certainly an Ameiva. 4m. Ed. (2) Lae. alegyra, Lin. (3) Taxus and dpomev, Quick-runner. (4) Iguane, a name according to Hernandéz, Scaliger, &c. originating in St Do- + 24 REPTILIA. “ their eye, ear, &c. are also similar, but their tongue is fleshy, thick, non-extensible, and only emarginated at the tip. They may be divided into two sections; in the first, or that of the Acamrans, there are no palatine teeth. In this ‘section we place the following genera, , STELLIO, Cuyv. In addition to the general characters of the family of the Iguanida, the tail is encircled by rings composed of large and frequently spiny scales. The subgenera are as follows: , Corpytus, Gronoy.(1) The tail, belly and back covered with large scales arranged in transverse rows. The head, like that of the common lizards, is pro- tected 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 outsides of the thighs, on which latter there is a line of very large pores. The Cape of Good Hope produces several species long con- founded under the name of Lacerta cordylus, L. These Saurians, whose armour so completely defends them, are a little larger than the common Green Lizard of Europe, and feed on insects.(2) mingo, whose inhabitants must have pronounced it Hiwana, or Rrgnt. Accord- ing to Bontius it originated in Java, where the natives call it Leguan. In this case the Portuguese and'Spaniards carried it to America transformed to Iguana. They apply it there now to a Sauvegarde, as a true Jguana. 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 Bon- tius as a Monitor. ; " (1) According to Aristotle, ‘the Cordylus is the only animal possessing feet and branchiz. Itswims with its feet and tail, the latter of which, asfar as‘large things can be compared with small, is similar to that of a Silurus. This tail is soft and broad. Ithas no fins: it lives in marshes, like the Frog: it isa 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 thistake, annexed to it the figure of the Lac. nilotica, L. Rondelet has applied this name to the great Stellio of Egypt, or Caudiverbera of Bélon, mistaking the ear, in the figure, for a gill opening. Between Rondelet and Linneus, then, Cordylus has passed for the synonyme of the Caudiverbera. Its special application to the above subgenus is alto- gether arbitrary. Merrem lias changed it to Zonurus. (2) Daudin has referred several synonymes of Stellio to Cordylus, just as he has Ya SAURIA. 25 Sretuio, Daud.(1) The spines of the tail moderate: the head enlarged behind by the muscles of the jaws; the back and thighs bristled here and there with scales larger than the others, and sometimes spiny; small groups of spines surrounding the ear; no pores on the thighs; the tail long, and terminating in a point. But one species is known. Lac. stellio, L.; the Stellio of the Levant; Seb. I, cvi, f. 1, 25 -and better Tournef. Voy. au Lev. I, 120; and Geoff. Descr. de Egypte, Rept. II, 3; Koscordylos of the modern Greeks; Har- dun of the Arabs. A foot long; of an olive colour shaded with black; very common throughout the Levant, and particularly so in Egypt. According to Bélon it is the feces of this animal which are collected for the druggists under the names of cor- dylea, crocodilea or stercus lacerti, which were formerly in vogue as a cosmetic; but it would rather appear that the ancients at- tributed this name and quality to those of the Monitor. The »Mahometans kill the present Stellio wherever they see it, be- cause, 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.(2) © Uromastix,(3) Cuv.—Sreiiions Bararps, Daud. u Mere Stellios, whose head is not enlarged, all the scales of their referred to Stellio several synonymes of the Geckotte. There are four species in France: Cord. griseus, Nob., Seb. 1, Ixxxiv, 4;—the C. niger, the ridges of whose scales are more blunt, Seb., U, Ixii, 5;—the C. dorsalis;—the C. microlepidotus. There are also some Cordylesat the Cape of G. Hope, whose scales, (even those on the tail) are almost destitute of spines (C. levigatus, Nob.). (1) The Stellio of the Latins was a spotted Lizard that lived in holes of walls. It was considered the enemy of man, yenomous and cunning. Hence the term stellionate, or Fraud in the contract. It was probably the Tarentole, or the Geeko tuberculeua of the south of Europe, Geckotte of Lacep. ., as conjectured by various authors, and lately by M. Schneider. There is nothing to justify its application to the present species; Belon, if Iam not mistaken, was the first who abused it thus. t .; aa (2) Stellio brevicaudatus, Seb., Vi, xxii, 6; Daud; Ls eve i St. azureus, Daud., Id. 46. ad (3) Caudiverbera and spouassé are not anovents names. They, ‘were coined by Ambrosinus for the great Egyptian species, of which Bélon had said ‘‘ cauda atro- cissime diverberare creditur.” Linnzus was the first who applied it to a Gecko, and Vox. IIl.—D 26 REPTILIA. bi 3 , AG body being small, smooth and uniform, and those of the tail still . larger and more spiny than in the common Stellio; but there are none beneath. There is a series of pores under their thighs. ~ a Stellio spinipes, Daud. Fouette-queue d’ Egypte, Geoff. Rept. | d’Egyp. pl. I, f.2. Two or three feet long; the body inflated; altogether of a ee grass green; small spines on the thighs; the tail only spiny above. Found in the deserts which surround Egypt; it was formerly described by Bélon, who says, but with- — out adducing proof, that it is the terrestrial Crocodile of the ancients. (1) , “| AcaAma, Daud.(2) Paha) The Agame bear a great resemblance to the common Stellios, particularly in their inflated head; but the scales of their tail, which are imbricate and not verticillate, distinguish them from that genus. Their maxillary teeth are nearly similar, and there are none in the palate. In the Common AGAMA, ‘ The scales are raised in points or tubercles; spines either singly or in groups bristle on various parts of the body, the vicinity of the. _ ear especially. A row of them is sometimes found on the neck, but without forming that palisado-like crest which characterizes the Calotes. The skin of the throat is lax, plaited transversely, and sus- ceptible of being inflated. ft In some species are found femoral pores. The , i lg. barbata, N. is very remarkable for its size and extraor- dinary figure; a suite of large spiny scales extend along its back and tail intransverse bands, and approximate it to the Stellios. 4 other authors have given it to different Saurians. Add Urom. griseus of New Holland;—Ur. reticulatus of Bae acantinurus, Bell. Zool. Jour., I, 457, if it be a distinct species. N.L. The flat-tailed Stellio of New Holland, Daud. isa Phyllurus. (1) It isa Uromastix that is described by M. de Lacep. Rept. Il, 497, under the name of Quetzpaleo, which is that of another Saurian, to be spoken of here- after.—Add, Ur. ornatus, Ruppel. (2) Agama, from ayauoc, bachelor. Why Linnzus gave this name to 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 isa native. A new species called forgquata has lately been described by one Peale and Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. Vol. VI, p- 231, from Mexico, which thee con- sider as approaching the nigricollis, Spix. Am. Ed. it : : ¢ ah oe hd SAURIA. 27 ste The t Toat, which can be greatly inflated, is covered with clon- gated and pointed scales, which constitute 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 - Rw muricata, Sh.; the Muricated Agama of the same country, Gén. Zool., Vol. Ill, part 1, pl. Ixv, f. xi; White, p- 244, in which the raised scales are disposed in longitudinal bands, be- _ tween 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.(1) Brownish, with a long tail; a small row of short spines on the neck; from Africa, ey and not, as is asserted, from Guiana. a 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 2g. aculeata, Merr.;(2) Seb., I, viii, 6, Ixxxiii, 1 and 2, cix, 6; its belly sometimes assumes an inflated .. form, which leads to the Taraves—AGames OrprcuLarres, Daud. in part, Which are mere Agamz, 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.(3) (1) Nothing can surpass the confusion in the synonymes quoted by authors with respect to the different species of Lizards, and chiefly of the 24gamx, Calotes and Stellios. As regards the 4gama, for instance, Daudin quotes from Gmelin, Seb., I, cvii, 1 and 2, which are Sfellios; Sloane, Jam., Il, cclxxiii, 2, which is an Anolis, Edw. cexly, 2, which is also an nolis; 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 acwleata, is quoted as orbicularis, &c. (2) The Agame 2 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 ?’Agame sombre (Ag. atra’, Daud., IM, 349; rough, blackish; a yel- lowish line along the back;—the 2g. ombre (Lac. umbra) Daud., which is not the Lae. umbra, Lin. but distinguished from it by five lines of very small spines, which extend along the back, &c. ' (3) Ido 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, pl. xlyv, or, if at all, only from the sex. Daudin has put in its place, tom. III, pl. xlv, f. 1, the adult of the Tup. agyptius, ‘ ; “a 28 REPTILIA. ie * * . é y : 1 > 5 ‘ » 2 TrapE.us, Cuv. © . i The form and teeth of the Agamz, but the scales are _small and without spines; no pores on the thighs. Trap. Hgyptius; Le Changeant d’ Egypte, Geoff. Rep. d’Eg. pl. v, f. 3, 45 the adult, Daud. II, xlv, 1, under the name of Orbiculaire, is a little animal whose body is also sometimes in- flated, and remarkable for changing its colours even more sud- denly than the Chameleon. When young it is entirely smooth; there are some larger scales scattered among the small oneson the body of the adult.(1) nd Ler1oLepis, Cuy. ( @ d ol oxi The teeth of an Agama, the head less inflated, and completely covered with very small, smooth, and compact scales. Pores on the thighs.(2) The Troprpoeris, Cuy. “ Still similar to the Agamz in teeth and form, but regularly co-~ e vered with imbricated and carinated scales. The femoral pores are strongly marked.(3) The Leposoma, Spix—Tropiposaurus, Boié, Only differs from Tropidolepis, by having no pores.(4) . Catores, Cuy.(5) The Calotes differ from the Agamz in being regularly covered (1) it is difficult to establish precise limits between this subgenus and certain short, thick Agame, that have but few spines. (2) There is a species in Cochin China that is blue, with white stripes and spots, and a long tail ( Lei/. guttatus, Cuv.). - (3) Ag. undulata, Daud., a species that is found throughout America, remark- able for a white cross under the throat, on a black-blue ground. The Ag. nigri- collaris, Spix, XVI, 2, and cyclurus, XVM, f. 1, are at least closely allied to it. (4) 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 Boié froma small species from Cochin China, which is in the Cabinet du Roi. (5) Pliny says that the Stellio of the Latins was called by the Greeks Galeotes, Colotes, and Askalabotes, It was, as we have seen, the Geckotte of Lacep. Its appli- cation by Linnzus to his Zac. calotes is arbitrary, and was suggested to him by Seba. Spix comprises our Calotes in his genus Loruyrus, which is not the same as that of Dumeril. vidos uf i Ny i e x 4 ex n _ with Scaife arranged like tiles, frequently carinated and terminating in a point 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 acrest of variable extent. They have no visible pores on the thighs, which, edded to their teeth, dis- tinguishes them from the Iguane., The most common species, Lac. calotes, L.; Seb. 1, Ixxxix, 25 . Xeiii, 2; xcv, 3 and 4; Daud., III, xliiis 2gama 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, al- though it does not change its colours. The eggs are fusi- form.(1) In the F ss . SAURIA. 29 te Lornyrus, Duméril, The scales on the body are similar to those of the Agamz; 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 remarkable species is, » Agama gigantea,(2) Kuhl; Seb. I, c. 2, whose dorsal crest is placed very high on the neck, and is formed of several rows of vertical scales; two bony ridges, one on each side, extend from the muzzle to the eye, where they terminate in a point, and join r ; (1) Add the 4g. gutturosa, Merr. or cristatella, Kuhl; blue, without bands, and small scales on the back; Seb., I, Ixxxix, 1;—the Ag. cristata, Merr., Seb. I, xciii, 4, and Il, Ixxvi, 5, a reddish brown, with blackish brown scattered spots, of which the Agame arlequiné, Daud. Ill, xliv, is the young;—the .2g. vultuosa, Harl. Phil. Ac. Nat. Sc. IV, xix. * All these species are from the East Indies; the Lophyrus ochrocollaris and mangaritaceus, Spix, XI, 2, are American Calotes; the first is the same as the 4gama picta, Pr. Max.; the Loph. panthera, Spix, pl. xxiii, f. 1, is the young of the same. Add to these American Calotes Loph. rhombifer, Spix, xi, _ of which the Loph. albomavillaris, Id., XXII, f. 2, is the young;—Loph. awroni- tens, Spix, pl. 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 covered with carinated scales (Cal. lepidogaster, Nob.); the 2g. catenata, Fr. Max. liv. V, may belong to this group. N.B. The designer of Seba’s plates has given to most of his Iguane, Agame, Calotes, &c. extensible and forked tongues, drawn from imagination. (2) It is difficult to imagine the reason that induced Kuhl to cail this Saurian gigantic, as it is not larger than its most closely allied Agamz and Calotes. * From the observations of Major fe Conte, it would seem that what is here called the Ag. vultuosa is the young of another species, dm. Ed. 30 REPTILIA. on.the temple. © This singular Saurian appears to belong to In- . dia. The ' 4. Vay GonocEPHALus, Kaup. Is closely allied to Lophyrus; the cranium also forms a sort of disk by means of a ridge which | erminates in a notch above each eye. There is a dewlap and acrest on the neck. The tympanum AZ ene ' S ¥ is visible.(1) ¢ Lyriocernatus, Merr. »% In addition to the characters of a Lophyrus, the species of this subgenus have a tympanum concealed under the skin and muscles, like that of the Chameleon: they also, have a dorsal crest and a ca-. rinated tail. in In the species known, Lyrio margaritaceus, ‘Merr.;* Lacerta scutata, 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.(2) It feeds on grain. . BracuyLopuus, Cuvy. . 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 Iguanz; but they have no palatine teeth; those of the jaws are denticulate. .Such is LI? Iguane a bandes, Brong., Essai et Mém: des Sav. .Etr.+3, pl. x,f. 5. From India. It is a deep blue, with light blue bands. uw) Isis, 1825, I, p. 590, pl. iii. (2) From this Lyriocephalus, the Przvustes of Merrem and the Punswooxria- tus of Kaup, Fitzinger forms a family called PNeusrorpza, which he approximates to that of the Chameleons. The Pneustes depend altcgether ona vague and im- perfect description of Azzara, II, 401, on which, also, Daudin had established his Agame a queue prenante, Til, 440; Azzar. says that its ear is not visible, probably because itis very small. The Prynocernaxus is composed of the Lac. guttata and the Lac. uralensis, Lepechin. Voy. 1, p. 317, pl. xxii, f. 1 and 2, which form but one species. Kaup asserts that ithas no external tympanum (Isis of 1825, I, 591). Not having seen these animals, I hesitate as to their classification. Another sub- genus will probably have to be made of the Lézard @ oreilles (Lac. aurita, Pall. )s Daud., II, 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. SAURIA. | 31 go Puysicnatuus, Cuv. . The same teeth, 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 compres ed. r Ph. cocincinus, 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, &c. 4 Istrurus, Cuv.—Loruura, Gray.(1) The distinguishing character of this genus consists in an elevated and trenchant crest, which extends along a part of the tail, and which is supported by high spinous apophyses of the vertebrz; this crest is scaly like the rest of the bodys the scales on the belly and tail are » small, and approach somewhat to a square form; the teeth are strong, compressed, and without denticulations: there are none in the pa- late: there is a series of femoral pores. The skin of the throat is smooth and lax, but without forming a dewlap. Lac. amboinensis, Gm.; Le Porte-Créte, Lacép.; Schlosser, Monog., cop. Bonnat. Erpet. pl. 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 t insects. It is sometimes found four feet in length. Its flesh is edible. Draco, L.(2) The Dragons ate distinguished at the first glance, from all other Saurians, by their first six false ribs, which, instead of encircling the abdomen, extend outwards in a straight line, and support a pro- duction 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 supporting them, when they leap from one branch to another, but has not sufficient power to enable them to (1) Ihave changed this name of Lophura, which is too much like that of Lo- phyrus. (2) The term dpexay, draco, generally designated a large Serpent; Dragons, - with a crest or beard, are spoken of by ancient writers, a description which can Only. apply to the Jgvana; Lucian is the first who mentions Flying Dragons, allud- ing, no doubt, to the pretended Flying Serpents treated of by Herodotus; St Au- gustine, and other subsequent authors, ever after described Dragons as haying wings. . 4 é we . 32 ‘ REPTILIA. “ rise like a Bird. They are small animals, completely invested with little imbricated scales, of which those on the tail and limbs are ca- rinated. Their tongue is fleshy, but slightly extensible, and some- what emarginate. A ‘long poin dewlap hangs under their throat, supported by the tail of the’ os s 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 granwles on the thighs, and there is a lit- tle 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 triangular and tribolate gvinders. ‘They consequently have the scales and dewlap of the elemagiees Wath 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 determined their SPE ai (1) La ‘ Srrana, Cuv. 7(2) 4 Teeth of the Agamz and four canini; body and limbs covered with imbricated and carinated scales; no pores on the thighs; but their ribs are not extended outwards. It is distinguished by an enormous dewlap which reaches to the middle of the belly, and . which is twice the height of the animal. Sit. ponticeriana, Cuy. is the only known species, and is from, the East Indies. It is small, fawn-coloured, and has a séries of . broad, brown, rhomboidal spots along the back. It is perhaps to this tribe of Agamians that we should ap- proximate a very extraordinary reptile which, is only to be found among the fossils of the old Jura limestone formation. — e Prrropacry.us, Cuv.(3) 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 charac- ter 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 Ieua- (1) The Dragon rayé;—the Drag. vert, Daud-, Vl, xli;—the Drag. brun. + (2) Stfan is the name of the species on the Coast of Coromandel. (3) See my Oss. foss. 2d ed. Vol. V, p. 2, pl. xxiii. SAURTA. go NIANS proper, 1s distinguished from the first by having teeth in the palate. ; Ievana, Cuv. In Iguana, properly so called, the body and tail are covered with small imbricated scales; along the entire length of the back, is 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; the head covered with plates. Each jaw is surrounded with a row of compressed, triangular teeth, whose cutting edge is denticulate; two small rows of the same on the posterior edge of the palate. Ig. tuberculata, Laur.; Lac. Iguana, 1.3; Seb. I, xcv, 1, xcvii, 3, xcevili, 1. (The Common American Iguana. )(1) Yellowish green above, marbled with pure green; the tail annulated with brown; _ preserved in alcohol it appears blue, changing to green and vio- let, and dotted with black; paler beneath; acrest of large spini- form dorsal scales; a large round plate under the tympanum at the angle of the jaws; sides of the neck furnished with pyramidi- calscales scattered among the others; anterior edge of the dewlap denticulate like the back; from four to five feet in length: com- mon in South America where its flesh is esteemed delicious, al- though unwholésome, particularly for syphilitic patients. It lives mostly on trees, occasionally visits the water and feeds on fruit, grain, and leaves; the female lays her eggs in the sand, they are the size of those of a Pigeon, agreeable to the taste and almost without white. I’ Iguane ardoisé, Daud.; Seb. I, xcv, 2, xcvi, 4. (The Slate- coloured Iguana.) A uniform:violet blue, paler beneath; the dorsal spines smaller; otherwise, similar to the preceding, both of them having an oblique whitish line on the shoulder. The latter is from the same country as the former, and is probably a mere variety of age or sex.(2) Ig. nudicollis, Cuv.; Mus. Besler. tab. XIII, f. 3; Zz. delicatis- sima, Laur., resembles the common one, particularly in its dor- sal crest, but has no infra-tympanal plate, nor the scattered tu- (1) The Mexicans call it Aquaquetzpallia, Hernand.; the Brazilians, Senembi, Marcegr. (2) I have every reason to think that this same conclusion should be extended to the Iguanas of Spix, pl. v, vi, vii, viii, and ix: they seem to me to be nothing more than various ages of the common BEECH: Wet. KF, 34 REPTILIA.| bercles on the sides of the neck. The top of the cranium is furnished with arched plates; the occiput is ‘tuberculous; the . dewlap is moderate, and has but few indentations, and those only before. aurenti says its habitat is India, but he is mistaken; we have received it from the Brazils, and from Guadaloupe.(1) Ig. cornuta, Cuy.; Ig. cornu de St Domingue, Lacep.; Bonnat. Encyc. Method. Ee patolnd: Lézards, pl. iv, f. 4. (The Horned Iguana.) 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 tu- bercles on the neck, but the scales on the jaws are embossed. Ig. cychlura, Cuy. (The Carolina Iguana. ),»No infra-tympanal plate or small spines on the neck, but carinated scales, rather larger than the rest, form cinctures on the tail at separate intervals.(2) % Opuryvessa, Boié. w Small imbricated scales; a slightly salient dorsal crest, extending on the tail, which is compressed; denticulated maxillary teeth, and teeth “= in the palate: circumstances which approximate them to Iguana; . but they have no dewlap, nor femoral pores. Lac. superciliosa, L.3 Seb. I, cix, 4; Lophyrus xiphurus, Spix, X, so called from a pal tli carina which forms its eye- brow, is an American species, of a fawn colour, with a festoon- ed brown band along each flank, e Bastiiiscus, Daud. No pores; palatine teeth; the body covered with small scales; on the back and tail a continuous and elevated crest supported by the spinous apophyses of the vertebra, like that on fhe tail of the Is- » tiuri. The species known, Lacerta basiliscus, L., Seb. I, c. 1; Daud. IfI, xlii, is recognized by the hood-like membranous prominence of its occiput, that is supported by cartilage. It attains a large size, is bluish, with two white bands, one behind the eye, the (1) I suspect the Amblyrhynchus cristatus, Bell. Zool. Journ. 1, Supp. p. xii, is a badly prepared specimen of my nudicollis, (2) It also appears to me that this Jewana is the same which Dr Harlan (Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. of Phil. IV, pl. xv,) calls Cychlura carinata; but in this case there must be some mistake, as in the Amblyrhynchus, relative to the palatine teeth. These teeth exist in all my Iguanas, ne SAURIA. . 35 other back of the jaws, which are lost on the shoulder.(1) It is from Guiana, and feeds on grain. Potycurvs, Cuy. Teeth in the palate as in 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 covered 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 vo- luminous, occupy nearly the whole trunk, and are divided into seve- ral branches; the false ribs, like those of the chameleon, surround the abdomen by uniting so as to form perfect circles. Lac. marmorata, L.; Marbré de la Guiane, Lacép. I, xxvi; Seb. II, Ixxvi, 4; Spix, XIV. Reddish-grey, marbled with irre- gular transverse bands of a brown-red, sometimes mixed with blues the tail very long. Common in Guiana.(2) Ecruimotus, Fitzinger. Teeth and pores of a Polychrus, 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 | Their form is somewhat short, and flattened, more like that of certain Agamz than of a Polychrus. The most common species, Z4gama tuberculata, Spix, XV, 1, or Tropidurus torquatus, Pr. Max.(3) is ash-coloured, dpabicled with whitish drops, and has a black semi-collar on each side of the neck. It inhabits Brazil. fy ¥ OpLuRusS, Cuv.(4) 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 cartantes but very small. Gis species only is known. (1) Itis on the authority of Seba that this species has hitherto been considered as inhabiting India—it does not inhabit that country. (2) Add, Pol. acutirostres, Spix, XIV. (3) The Tropidurus of Pr. Max. de Wied. isnot, as he imagined, the Quetzpaleo of Seba, although it is also marked with black semi-collars. (4) The name of Quetzpaleo, given by Seba to the above species, seems to be a corruption of the Mexican qua quetz pallia, which appears to be a name of the Iguana; the Quetzpaleo of Lacep., Rept. 4to, IL, 497, is a Uromastix; but the figure quoted is that of Seba’s animal. 36 REPTILIA. . Onl. torquatus, Cuy. (The Black-collared Grey obtetinas ) A black half collar on each side of the neck. From Brazil. ‘a x 4 Anoutus, Cuv.(1) at, In addition to all the peculiarities of form of the Iguana, and par- ticularly of the Polychrus, these animals have a yery peculiar and distinctive character: the skin of their toes is spread out under the antepenultimate phalanx into an oval disk transversely striated be- neath, which assists them to attach themselves to various surfaces, to which, independently of this, they cling with great pertinacity by means of their nails, which are very much hooked. ‘Their body and tail, moreover, are uniformly roughened with small scales, and most of them have a dewlap under the throat, which under the excitement of passion becomes inflated and changes colour. Several enjoy the faculty of changing the colour of their skin, to an equal degree with the Chameleon. Their ribs form entire circles like those of the Polychrus and Cameleon. ‘Their teeth are trenchant and denticulate, as in Polychrus and Iguana, and they are even found in the pa- late. The skin of their tail is doubled into slight folds or depres- sions, 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 spi- nous apophyses of the vertebrz, as in Istiurus and Basiliscus. (2) An. velifer, Nob. (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. bimaculata, 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 Ame- rica and several of the Antilles. ln. equestris, Merr. Fawn-colour, shaded with an ashy lilac; (1) Anoli, Anoalli, the name of these Saurians in the Antilles; Gronovius, very gratuitously, has applied it to the Ameiva. Rochefort, from whose work it was taken, only gives acopy of the Teyuguacu 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 .4n. roguet, which, in fact, was sent to the Museum from Martinique under the name of /molis. MM. de Tonnes has even ascertained that it is the only one by which it is now known. (2 They have been confounded with each other, and with some of the following ones, under the names of Lac. principalis and bimaculata. SAURIA. ae 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 confounded under the names of Roquet, Goitreua, Rouge-gorge, and Anolis, _ —Lac. strumosa and bullaris, L. They inhabit the hot parts of - America and the Antilles, and change colour with astonishing facility, particularly in hot weather. When angry, their dewlap becomes inflated and as red as a cherry. These animals are not so large as the Grey Lizard of Europe, and feed on insects _. which they actively pursue; it is said that whenever two of them meet, a furious combat inevitably ensues. The species of the Antilles, or the Roquet of Lacep. I, pl. XXVli, which is more particularly the Lac. bullaris, Gm., has a short muzzle speckled with brown, and salient eye-lids; its usual colour is greenish. Its round tail excepted, it closely re- sembles the Lac. bimaculata. The Anolis rayé, Daud. IV, xlvili, 1, only differs from it in a series of black lines on the flank. It seems to be identical with the Zac. strumosa, L. Seb. II, xx, 4, and is somewhat longer than the preceding species. The Carolina Anolis, Iguane goitreux, Brongn. Catesb. I, Ixvi, 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 avery distinct species.(1) It is to this family of the Iguane with palatine teeth, that be- longs an enormous fossil reptile known by the name of the Maestricht Animal, and for which the new name of Mosasavu- rus has recently been coined.(2) (1) Add the Anolis a points blancs, Daud. {V, xlviii, 2;—An. viridis, Pr. Max. lib. VI;—An. gracilis, Id. and several other species, of which, unfortunately, E have no figures to cite. (2) See Oss. foss. Vol. V, part. IL. Many large reptiles have been discovered in a fossil state, which it appears — should be approximated to this family, but their characters are not sufficiently known to enable us to class them with precision. Such are the Grosaurvs disco- vered by Semmering, the Mzcatosaurus of M. Buckland, the Ievanopon of M. Mantell, &c. See Oss. Foss. ut sup. 38 REPTILIA. FAMILY IV. - 4 GECKOTIDA. This family is composed of nocturnal lizards which are so similar that they may be left in one genus. : + ’ Gecko, Daud.—AsKALAROTES, Cuv.—STELLIO, Schn.(1) 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. Their feet are mode- rate, and the toes almost equal; their gait is a heavy kind of crawl- ing; very large eyes, whose pupil becomes narrowed at the ap- proach of light, like that of a cat, render them noctugnal animals, which secrete themselves during the day in dark places. Their very short eye-lids are completely withdrawn between the eye and the orbit, which gives them a different aspect from other Saurians. Their tongue is fleshy and non-extensible; their tympanum some- what sunk; their jaws every where furnished with a range of very small closely-joined teeth; their palate without teeth; their skin is studded above with very small granular scales, among which are often found larger tubercles, and beneath, covered with scales some- what 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 (where there are any naturally) without tubercles; circum- stances which have led to an undue multiplication of species. This genus is .umerous and disseminated throughout the warm portions of both continents. The melancholy and heavy air of the Gecko superadded to a certain resemblance it bears to the Salaman- der and the Toad, have rendered 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, au- (1) Gecko, aname given to a species in India, inimitation of itscry, justas ano- ther one is termed T'ockaie at Siam, and a third Geitje at the Cape; atxaara- €wlns, the Greek name of the Geckotte, Lacep. SAURIA. 39 thorize us to say, that the Gecko, as compared to other Saurians, is ‘what the Cats are to the Carnivorous Mammalia; but these nails vary according to the species, and in some are entirely wanting. In the first and most numerous division of the Geckos, which I will call the PLATYDACTYLI, _ The toes are widened throughout, and covered beneath with trans- verse scales. Some 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. _ Inothers, the femoral pores are deficient.(1) 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.(2) Such is the Gecho cepedien, Peron, of the Isle of France; pale yellow, marbled with blue; a white line along each flank. I am not sure, however, that the pores in this first subgenus are not sexual indications. Other Platydactyli have no nail to their thumb, nor to the second and fifth toes of all the feet; the femoral pores are also deficient.(3) Such is, Gecko fascicularis, Daud. Lacert. facetanus, Aldrov. 654, Ta- rente of Provence; Yarentola, or rather TVerrentola of the Ita- lians; Stellio of the ancient Latins; Geckotte, Lacep. 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. Itis a hideous animal, which hides in holes of walls, heaps of stones, &c., covering its body with dust and filth. The same species appears to exist every where about the Mediterra- nean, and in Provence and Languedoc. There is a neighbouring species in Egypt and in Barbary, (1) M. Gray appropriates the name of Platydactylus to this division. (2) It is from this division that M. Gray has made his genus Phelsuma; the La- certa gietje of Sparm. should belong to it. They are considered yery venomous at the Cape. (3) This division forms the genus TanrnToxa of Gray. 4O REPTILIA. > with simple round tubercles, which are «more salient on the flanks,—G. «gypliacus, Nob. Egypt., Rept., pl. v,f. 7.1) % The nails are only deficient in the four thumbs of the greater num- ber of the platydactile Geckos. They have a range of pores before the anus.(2) Such are, Gecko, Lacep. 1, xxix; Stellio Gecko, Schneid.; Le Gecko a gouttelettes, Daud.; Seb. I, 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 fur- nished beneath with square and imbricated scales. Seba says it is from Ceylon, and pretends that it is to this identical spe- cies 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 Geeko & bandes; Lizard Pandang, at ~ Amboina; 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 Am- boina on the branches of the shrub called the Pandang.(3) =, 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, Crevett., Soc. of Nat. of Berlin, 1809, pl. vill, the sides of whose head and body are augmented by a broad membrane, which is scalloped into festoons on the sides of the tail. Its feet are palmated. Found in Java, in Bengal.(4) 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, —PrrrorLeura Hors- fieldti, Gray, Zool. Jour, No. X, p. 222. Finally, some Platydactyli have no nails to all their toes. There is a smooth species with palmated feet in France,—.2. Leachianus, Nob. . In a second subdivision of the Geckos, which I call the (1) This fig. entitled Var. du Gecko annulaire, has too many nails. (2) This division is the Gecko proper of M. Gray. (3) N.B. Daudin erroneously gives nails to the thumbs of these two Geckos. (4) ‘This bordered Platydactylus forms the genus Ptychozoon of Vitzinger. M. y Gray also separates his Prenorteuna from them on account of the absence of the pores. ¢ ' a SAURIA. Al HemMIDACTYLI, The base of the toes is 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 lente and has the third or the nail at its extremity. The species known have five nails, and < series of pores oneach side of the anus. The sub-caudal scales ony broad bands like those on the belly of Serpents. There is one species in the south of Europe, G. verruculatus, Nob., of a reddish grey; the back covered with little conical tubercles, somewhat rounded; circles of similar tubercles round the tail; found in Italy, Sicily and Provence like the G. fasci- cularis. A very similar species, G. mabuia, Nob., with still smaller tubercles, those of the tail more pointed; grey, clouded with brown; brown rings on the tail, abounds throughout the hot portions of America, where it enters the houses. It is known in the French colonies by the name of Mabouia des murailles.(1) 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.(2) A Hemidactylus with a bordered body, G. marginatus, Nob, is also found in India; its feet are not palmated; the tail is hori- zontally flattened, and its edges are trenchant and somewhat ciliated. It was sent from Bengal by M. Duvaucel. In the third division of the Geckos, which I will call THECADACTYLI, The toes are widened throughout, 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 those species which are known to me the nails are deficient on the thumbs only; the femoral pores are wanting, and theip tail is covered above and beneath with small scales. G. levis, D.; Stellio perfoliatus, Schn.; Lac.: sont Gm. ; Le Gecko lisse, Dad IV, li. Known in the/Ereneh:colonies as the Mabouia des bananiers. Grey, rharbled: with *brown; finely vhete ss fo (1) So far as we can judge from the figure, the Thecadact ylus policaris and the * Gecko aculeatus, Spix, XVII, 2 and 3, scem t to be different ages of this Mabouia des muraillés. MM. de Jonnés has given a AgROBT: aph of them, but he confounds it with different species. (2) To this division, also belong the G.@ tubercules triédres and the G, d queue épineuse of Daud.; the first is identical with t ie: Stell. mauritanious of Schn. The Stell. platyurus, Schn, is also elosely allied * Von tp i agp) eet sre hts 42 REPTILIA. granulated, but without tubercles above; small scales beneath; its naturally long tail, which is encircled with plaits as usual, is casily broken, and the new one that succeeds is sometimes considerably enlarged, resembling a small radish. It is from these accidental monstrosities ‘that it has received the name of G, vapicauda.(1) In the fourth division of the Geckos, or PryopacryLt(2) The ends of the toes only are dilated into plates, the under sur- face of which is striated so as to resemble a fan. The middle of the plate is split and the nail placed in the fissure. Tach toe has a strongly hooked nail. The toes of some are free, and their tail round. Lac. gecko, Wasselq.; Gecko lobatus, Geoff. Rept. Egyp. I, 53 Stellio Hasselquistii, Schn. Smooth; reddish-grey dotted with brown; the scales and tubercles very small; common in houses on the south and east of the Mediterranean. At Cairo it is called the Abou burs (father of leprosy), on account of its com- municating that disease by poisoning (as they say) the salted provisions and other aliments with its feet, in crawling over them, In passing over the skin it occasions a redness, but this is perhaps solely owing to the fineness of its nails. Its cry somewhat resembles 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 Uro- rearus of Duméril. Stellio fimbriatus, Schn.; Le Gecko frangé; Tete plate, Lac., or Famo-Cantrata 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.(3) Lac. caudiverbera, L.3 Gecko du Pérou, Feuillée, 1, 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. Feuillée found it in a spring in the Cordilleras. It is blackish and more than a foot long. (1) The G. squalidus, Herm. if not the same as the Levis, belongs to this divi- sion, The Gecko de Surinam, Daud. is ‘only a younger and better coloured speci- men of the /wvis. (2) From w]voy, fan. (3) According to Brugiére’s description, the Sarroubé of Madagascar has all the characters of the /wmo-cantruta, except the fringe and a deficiency of the thumb in the fore feet. M. Vitzinger has taken it for his genus Sannuna,. a SAURIA. 43 “We may make a fifth division, the SPHERIODACTYLI, Of 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 allied to the simple Ptyodactyli. The species known are from the Cape or from India: such is the G. porphyré, Daud. Reddish-grey, marbled and dotted with brown.(1) Most generally the pellet is simple and round. The species are all American: such is the G. sputateur @ bandes, Lacep., Rept. I, pl. 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 z a uniform ash-co- lotr ld:.-ib. f. 2 Finally, hea are some Saurians which, possessing all the cha- -racters 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 indented along the sides, constituting the STENODACTYLI. There is one in Egypt, Sten. guttatus, Egyp., Rept. pl. V, f. 2.(2) Smooth, grey, sprinkled with whitish spots. Others have naked and slender toes: those which have a round tail form the Gymnopacrtv.t, Spix. Some of these are found in America with regular suites of small tubercles. The Gymnodactylus geckoides, Spix, X, viii, 1, also ap- pears to be one of them. Others again have their tail flattened horizontally, so as to resem- ble the shape of a leaf. PHYLLURUS. Only one species is known, and that is from New Holland, (1) Daudin was mistaken in considering this Gecko.as an American species, and synonymous with the mabouta. (2) Under the improper name of Agame ponctué. It is Retr in the Supp. pl. 1, f. 2; anda neighbouring species, f. 4. 44 REPTILIA. Stellio phyllurus, Schn.; Lacerta platura, White, New South Wa., p- 246, f. 2.(1) Grey marbled with brown above; com- pletely covered with small pointed tubercles. We are compelled to establish FAMILY V, CHAM AXLEONIDA, For the single genus, CHAMALEO,(2) Or the Chameleons, which is very distinct from all other saurian genera, and is not even easily intercalated in their series. 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 susceptible of great extension; 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 ex- ternal ear, and the occiput pyramidically elevated. Their first ribs are joined to the sternum; the following ones are extended each to its fellow on the opposite side, so as to enclose the abdomen by an entire circle. Their lungs are so enormous, that when inflated, their body seems to be transparent, a circumstance which induced the, ancients to believe that they fed on air. They live on insects which they capture with the viscid extremity of their tongue, the only part of their body which seems to be endowed with quickness of motion, as in every thing else they are remarkable for their ex- cessive slowness. The great extent of their lungs is probably the cause of their faculty of changing colour, which takes place, not as is thought in conformity with the hue of the 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, dnd even colour that fluid more (1) Referred by Daudin to Stellio; why, it is difficult to say. (2) Xapatasoy (Little Lion), the Grecian name of this animal. Aristotle, who uses it, has also given an excellent description of it. Hist. An. Lib. If, cap. xi. SAURIA. 45: or less vividly in proportion to the quantity of air they contain. They always remain on trees. Lac. africana, Gm.; Caméléon ordinaire, Lacep., 1, xxii; Seb. I, Ixxxii, 1, Ixxxiii, 4.(1) (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. Another similar species from the Se- chelles with a hood resembling that on the female of the pre- ceding; the granules on the skin fine and equal; it is distin- guished by adenticulated and compressed appendage under the extremity of its lower jaw. The body is sprinkled with black points. Cham. verrucosus, Cuv. > “

Ss - | e.i¢ Py opiibias. ot 53 ) Pallas has described f Stic: of the south of Russia, which F is also found in Hun gary, and in Dalmatia;the P. Pallasii, Nob.; :. Lacerta apoda, Pall, Nov. Com. Petrop? XIX, pl. ix, f. 1; frm twelve inches to two feet in length; scales on the back a Pa those on the tail carinated. - M. Durville has discovered another in the ‘Archipelago, Ps. , Durviliii Nob., whose dorsal scales are rough and carinate like - those on the tail. The ire : . » € . . Ornisacnes, Daud.(1) - Only differs 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 the body. The small lung is one third as large as the other. _» The most anciently known species, Oph. ventralis; Ang. ven- ::# Se L., Catesb. II, lix, is common in the United States. It < oe yellowish-green, spotted with black above; the tail longer “ than the body; so easily broken that it is commonly termed ac pri (2) ‘ as ” Aneuts, Cuv. a No external appearance whatever of an extremity; the tympanum even being concealed under the skin; the maxillary teeth compressed and hooked, but 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. = ea 9G species is very common throughout Europe; 4nguis fra- 3 y dns Lacep. ely six, 1, which, has very smooth, shining Repaivecy yellow above Gnd blackish beneath; three black i lines along thé back, which change by age into various series of 4 points, and finally disappear. Its tail is as long as the body, the i an animal being a foot and some inches; it feeds on lumbrici and insects, and produces its young living.(3) _ These three genera still have an imperfect pelvis, a small ster- num, a scapula and clavicle, hidden under the skin. The absence of all these bony parts compels us to separate the subgenus I call * » (1) From ®9: a Serpent, and caveér, a Lizard. _ (2) Add Ophis punctatus; Oph. striatulus, Nob. two new species. (3) The Anguis eriz, L. is merely a young specimen of the fragilis, in which the dorsal lines are still well marked; the .2. 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 old fragilis. 5A REPTILIA. a o » ae q Aerated Cuv. (1) Which still resembles the preceding i af the structure of the fate _and in the eye-lids, but in which there is no 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 pa- late. These animals are easily recognized by their muzzle, which is enclosed as in a sort of mask. The well known species, Anguis meleagris, Les Seb. II, xxi, 1,(2) inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. It rene les the J. fra- gilis, but its obtuse tail 1 is much shorter; eight longitudinal ee of brown spots decorate its back. The same country produce other species, one of which is completely blind, the Ac. cxeus, . Cuv. FAMILY II. yn a P » «= oe 7 SERPENTIA. * ‘e The true Serpents, which are by far the most numerous; comprise the genera without a sternum, and in which there is no vestige of a shoulder, but where the ribs still surround a great part of the circumference of the trunk, and whege 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 deficient ; but the malleus of the ear exists un- der the skin, and its handle passes behind the tym] anata There is still a vestige of a posterior limb, concealed under the skin, in several of this family, and which in some of them | shows its extremity externally in the form of a small hook.(3) (1) Acontias (javelin) the Greek name of a Serpent, which was believed to dart upon the passenger, from dxoy]:Cw, jaculor. (2) 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 dissection that this Serpent has no sternum, so that the supposition of M. Oppel to the contrary is erroneous. (3) See the dissertation (German) of M. Mayer on the posterior extremities of the Ophidians, in the twelfth vol. des Curieux de la Nature of Bonn. OPHIDIA. 55 We subdivide them into two tribes. * That of the AMPHISB&N &, as in the preceding reptiles, still has the lower jaw supported by a tympanal bone directly arti- culated with the cranium, the two bunches of this jaw soldered together in front, and those of the upper one fixed to the cranium and to the intermaxillary bone, circumstances which prevent that dilatation of the mouth which obtains in the suc- ceeding tribe, and which occasions a uniformity of the head and body, a form which enables them to move backwards or ‘forwards with equal facility. The bony frame of the orbit is incomplete behind, and the eye very small; the body is cover- ed with scales, the anus 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. . AMPHISBENA, L.(1) * 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 hone 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 Ixxiii, 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.(2) There is another in Martinique entirely blind, 4mph. cxca, Cuv.(3) The LepostErnon, Spix, are Amphisbenz, 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 somewhat elongated.(4) (1) From engre and Cxivew, walking both ways. The ancients attributed two heads to it- This name has been erroneously applied to some American Serpents, which it is impossible the ancients could have known. (2) The Amph. flavescens, Pr. Max. Lib. IX. (3) May it not be the .2. vermicularis, Spix, XXV, 2? he says, ‘oceuli vix con- spicu””—I can see none. He employed the same expression for his .2. oxyura. (4) Lep. microcephalus, Spix, or Amph. punctata, Pr. Max. 56 ‘REPT Ita. “ ; . Mis he a, “a | Typnops, een (1) * The body covered with small imbricated scales like Aatis: she with which they were long classed; the projecting muzzle fur- nished with plates;(2) 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 appear- ance, the former obtuse. They resemble pieces of slender'twine. 3.) Most of them have a depressed and obtuse muzzle, furnished be- fore with several plates.(4) 5 al The front of the muzzle in some is covered with a single large plate, the anterior edge of which is somewhat trenchant(5) Po 4. 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.(6) 4 J ‘ = > : In the second tribe, that of the SERPENTES, or SERPENTS, properly so called, the tympanal bone or pedicle of the lower® jaw is moyable, and is itself always suspended to another bone, .» analogous to the mastoid process, attached to the cranium by j 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 i in- termaxillary bone by ligaments, so that they can separate to a (1) Tégae}, tupaivy, blind, were the names of the Anguis (slow-worms) among the Greeks. Spix has substituted Srenosroma. (2) I could find no teeth in those I examined. (3) ZT. braminus, Nob. or Rondos-talaloopam,, Russel, Serp. ,Corom. XLII, or Eryx braminus, Daud. or Tortrix Russelii, Mery. a) (4) Ang. reticulatus, Sch., phys. sacr. pl. dccxlvii, 4;—T'yphlops septemstriatus, Schn. ;— 7" crocotatus, 1d.;—T" leucorhous, Oppel., &c. Seb. I, vi, 4, is a species of this subdivision. (5) Ang. lumbricalis, Lacep. I, pl. xx, Brown, Jam., XLIV, 1, Seb. I, Ixxxvi, 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 mono- graph. We are acquainted with at least twenty species. (6) Lyphlops philippinus, Nob. Eight inches long, all blackish. The Z! ox- yrhynchus, Schn. must be closely allied to it. Weng OPHIDIA. 57 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 back- wards, the most predominant 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. Serpents are divided into venomous and non-venomous; and the former are subdivided into such as are venomous with several maxillary teeth, and those which are venomous with insulated fangs. In such as are not 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 is then four equal rows of these teeth in the upper part of the mouth, and two below.(1) Those which have the mastoid processes comprized in the cranium, the orbit incomplete behind, and a thick, short tongue, still retam much similitude to the 4mphisbenx in the cylindrical form of their head and body, and were for- merly united with Anguis on account of their small scales. They constitute the Torrrix, Oppel.(2) And are otherwise distinguished from the Anguina, even exter- nally, 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 extremely short. They have but one lung. (1) 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. Itis very certain that several of the species in which the back molars are very large, are accounted extremely venomous in the countries they inhabit, and that the ex- periments of Lalande and Leschenault have served to confirm that opinion; their repetition is much to be desired. (2) They are the Aninius, Oken, the Torquarrix, Gray, and the Inysia, Hemprich and Fitzinger. Vou. I.—H 58 REPTILIA. The species known are from America, the most common > must be Anguis scytale, L. Seb. Il, xx, 3. Two feet long, irregularly annulated, white and black.(1) The Urope.ris, 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.(2) In those non-venomous Serpents, on the contrary, where 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 extensible. Ra They have long been divided into two principal genera, Boa and Couvuser, distinguished by the simple or double plates on the under part of the tail. The genus Boa, Lin.(3) Formerly comprized all those Serpents, venomous or not, the un- der 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 de- ducting the venomous species, the others have been again subdi- vided. The Boa, properly so called, has 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. Itis in this genus that are found the largest serpents on the globes certain spe- 4 (1) Add Ang. corallinus, Seb. Il, xxiii, 2,1, 5, which is perhaps a mere variety of the scytale;—.Ang. ater, 1d. XXV,'1, and VII, 3;—Tortr. rufa, Merr., which seems to me a variety of the a/ra;—/Ang. maculatus and tessellatus, Seb.II, c. 2; F. latta, N. Seba, II, xxx, 3; Russel, XLIV;— Tort. punctata, Nob., Seb. Il, 11, 1, 2,3, 4, and VI, 1, 4.: , (2) Uropeltis.c. ylanicus, Nob.;—Urop. philippinus, two new species similar to the Tortrices even in colour. f (3) 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 pro- bably a Python. See Pliny, lib. VIL, cap. xiv. oe OPHIDIA. 59 cies attain a length of thirty or forty feet, preying on dogs, deer, and even oxen, which they manage to swallow entire, after having crushed them in their folds and covered them with saliva. This operation requires much time and an enormous dilatation of their - jaws and throat. Their small lung is but half the length of the other. — The integuments of the head and jaws of these serpents furnish materials 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. U, xvi, 13 Seb. I, xxxvi, 5, liii, 11, Ixxxviii, 5, xcix, 1, cis Devin or Boa empereur of Daudin.(1) Known by a broad chain, whi@h extends along the back, formed alternately by large, blackish, irregularly hexa- ‘gonal spots, and by pale oval ones, the two ends of which are emarginate. 2. In others there are scaly plates from the eyes to the end of the muzzle, but no fossulz on the jaws. Boa scytale and murina, L.; Anaconda, Seb. IU, xxiii, 1, and xxix, 1; B. aquatica, Pr. Max. liv. II. Brown; a double suit of round black spots along the back; ocellated spots on the flanks. 3. Some have scaly plates on the muzzle, and little pits or fossule on the lateral plates of the jaws. Boa cenchris, L.3 Aboma and Porte Anneau, Daud.; Seb. I, lvi, 4, Il, xxvili, 2, and.xcviii; Boa cenchrya, 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 South America; winding their tail round some aquatic tree, they dart their floating body upon the quadrupeds which come there to drink. 4. Some haye plates on the muzzle, the side of the jaw being (1) 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 Bojodi inhabits Brazil. 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 circumstance of having improperly applied to this Serpent what is stated respect- ing certain large Colubers, which constitute the Fetiches of some negro tribes. ei 60 REPTILIA. grooved so as to resemble a slit beneath the eye, and further back.(1) 5. Finally, there are others in which the fossulz 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 com- pressed, and their back carinated. These inhabit the East In- dies, and may constitute a distinct subgenus.(2) . Schneider has separated from Boa his . PsruDO-BOA.—ScyTALE, Merr. Which has plates like the Coluber, not only on the muzzle, but also on the cranium; no fossule, a round body, and the head and trunk one uniform fiece, as in Tortrix.(3) Daudin also has sepa- rated from it the Erices, or Errx, Daud.(4) Which differ in the tail, it being short and obtuse, and in the ventral scales which are narrower. Their head-is short, and nearly of one uniform piece with the body; these characters would approxi- mate them to Tortrix if the conformation of their jaws did not for- bid it; besides, the head is only covered with small scales. There is no hook near the anus. We may approximate to these the Erpeton, Lacep.(5) Very remarkable for two soft prominences covered with scales on the end of the muzzle. The head is furnished with large plates, those on the belly have but little breadth, and the sub-caudal ones (1) The Boa broderie (B. hortulana, L.), Seb., 11, Ixxxiv, 1, and the élégant, Daud. V, Ixili, 1, which is the same;—the Bojobi (B. canina, L.) Seb., Il, Ixxxi and xcvi, 2, or Xiphosoma araramboja, Spix, XVI. The B. hipnale, Seb. I, xxxiy, 1, 2, and Lacep. II, xvi, 11, appears to be nothing more than a young Bojobi;—the B. Merremii, Schn., Merr. betyr. IL, ii, or Xiphosoma dorsale, Spix, XV, of which Daud. has made his genus Coraxtr, from the probably accidental and individual character of the two first plates under the neck being double. (2) The B. carinata, Schn., or the ocellata, Opp.;—the B. viperina, Sh. Russel, pl.iv. N.B. These two subdivisions form the genus, X1pHOSOMmA, Fitz. the Cxen- curtis of Gray. ; (3) Seyi. coronata, Merr., Seb. Il, xli, 1, Pr. M. liv. VIL N.B. The Scytale of Merrem must not be boutounacd with that. of Daudin, which is the Echis of Merrem. (4) Erix (hair), name applied by Linneus to a species of Anguis. (5) Epa@eres, Serpent. OPHIDIA. 61 hardly differ from the rest; the tail itself, however, is long and pointed. (1) CoLuBEr, Lin.(2) This genus comprised all those serpents, venomous or not, whose sub-caudal plates are divided in two, that is, which are arranged by ‘pairs. - Independently of the subtraction of the venomous species, their number is so enormously great, that'naturalists have had recourse to all sorts of characters to subdivide them. We may separate in the first place the © ot Pytuon, Daud. © Hooks near the anus and narrow ventral plates as in Boa, from which these serpents only differ in their double sub-caudal plates. * Theend 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, Sh., which has been found more than thirty feet in length. Seb. I, Ixii; TIS ax, 15 XXVIU, 13 KCIX, -2.(3) The last caudal plates in some of these Pythons, and the first 3 in others, are simple.(4) This may sometimes be-an accidental dif- ference. CERBERUS, Cuv. 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.(5) (1) Erpeton tentaculé, Lacep. Ann. Mus. II, 1, a name given to this genus by Lacep. who first described it; Merrem has substituted Rurnorrrvs. (2) Coluber, 1 generic name for Serpents among the Latins. (3) This Ular-sawa or Python améthiste, Daud., Boa amethystina, Schn., of which we possess one great skeleton and several skins, brought from Java by M. Leschenault, is at least closely allied to the Pedda-poda of Bengal (Python tigre, Daud.), Russel, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, Col. boxformis, Sh., Boa castanea and albi- cans, Schn.; and it appears to us that all the pretended species of Boa of the eastern continent are in fact Pythons. Udar-sawa, in the Malay language, signifies the River-Serpent. The B. reticulata, ordinata, rhombeata, Schn. are all Pythons. (4) The Bora, Russ., XX XIX (Boa orbiculata, Schn.). (5) We 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 62 REPTILIA. XeEnopettis, Reinw. Large triangular and imbricated plates behind the eyes, becoming confounded with the succeeding ones, wii merely decrease in size. (1) Herrropon, Beauv. E The usual plates of a Coluber, but the end of ‘the muzzle is one single piece, short, and resembling in form a slightly elevated trie- dralpy ramid, one ridge being above; from which circumstance they, have been called Hog-noses.(2) + Hurria, Daud. % 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.(3) te* Dirsas, Laurent.—Bunearvus, Oppel, The body compressed, much narrower than the heads; scales of the spinal range larger than the others, a circumstance which we shall find again in Bongarus. Such is the D. indica, Nob. Colub. bucephalus, Sh.; Seb. I ,xliii.(4) Black, ringed with w hte: group belong the Col. cerberus, Daud., Russel, pl. xvii;—Homolopsis obtusatus, Reinw. and the neighbouring species. (1) Xenopeltis concolor, Reinw. (2) The Hétérodon noiratre, Beauy., hétérodon, Daud., and the hétéredon tacheté (Cenchris mokeson, Daud. ) belong to this genus; but Beauvois has established it ona character which is found in a great many Colubers, viz. that of the posterior max- illary teeth being the largest; and Daudin appears to have known his Mokeson by a drawing oniy, we mean the Hog-nose of Catesby, Il, pl. 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. “Linnzus had correctly indicated this Serpent in histenth edition, under the name of Coluber constrictor: why he changed it in the twelfth to Boa contortrix, is not known. [N.B. The author in this note seems to have confounded three species of Serpents which are indubitably distinct—the Heterodon, the Trigonocephalus tisiphone or Mockason Snake, and the Coluber con- strictor or Black Snake. The Heterodon is a harmless animal, and has the plates’ on the top of the head arranged 3, 2, 3,2. Am. Ed. ] (3) Hurriah, a barbarous name, taken from that which designates the species, Russ., XL, copied Daud. V, xlvi,2. Another, Merr. I, iv. (4) Dipsas, the Greek name of a Serpent whose bite was thought to cause a fatal thirst, from dia, thirst. ‘The fig. of Conrad Gesner, at the word Dipsas, is precisely of this subgenus. The Dip. indica is altogether different from the OPHIDIA. . 63 x Denpropuis, Fitz3—Aneru.ia, Gray. 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.(1) Dryinus, Merr.—Passrrira, Gray. The body as long and slender as in the preceding subdivision; but therevis a little slender and pointed appendage to°the end of the muzzle.(2) v Dryvopuis, Fitz. _ The same elgheated: form, the muzzle pointed, but no appendage; scales equal.(3) _ F / s a4 Oxicopon, Boié. ie” Small Colubers, with a short, narrow, obtuse head, in which the palatine teeth are wanting. The various remaining subgenera which haye been separated ‘from that of Coluber, appear to us less worth retaining; they are founded upon slight variations in the proportions of the head, thick- “ness of the trunk, &c.(4) After all these divisions, the Colubers are more numerous in species than any other genus of Serpents. Seve- ral are found in France, such as Col. natrix, L.; Coulevre a collier, Lac. Il, vi, 2. (The Ringed Snake.) Cinereous, with black spots along the flanks, and three white ones on the neck, forming a collar; scales cari- nate, that is ridged. Very common in meadows and stagnant Vipera atraz, Mus. Ad. Fred. XXU, 2, with which ais Laurentini and Dau- din have confounded it. (1) Col. chextulla;—Col. decorus, Shaw;—Col. caracaras, 1d., (Bungarus filifor- mis, Oppel.) to which Tadd the Srgon, Fitz.; at least in the Col. catenulatus, Russ. pl, xv, the dorsal scales are rhomboidal and larger, as in the ahztulla. (2) Col. nasutus, Russ. Serp. pl. xii and xiii. (3) Col. fulgidus, Daud., VI, 1xxx, Seb., I, lili, 9;—Dryinus eneus, Spix, II. (4) By this I particularly mean the Tyria, Matroton, Psammornts, CORONELLA, Xznopon and Psevpoerars of Fitzinger. At most, we could only adopt his Duszr- rr, where the head is short, obtuse, and on one uniform line with the body as in Exars; and his Homatopsis, in which the eyes are rather more vertical than in the other Colubers. I have separated Cerservus. Laurentini had previously endea- voured to divide the Colubers into Corunzr and Coronexua; 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. 64 REPTILIA.— 4 t waters; it feeds on frogs, iaearees &e, and i 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 Viperine. -Grey-brown; a suite of black spots forming a cee 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 caginatéd. . Col. austriacus, Gm.; La Lisse, Lacep. I, ii, 2. Arobrntecel: marbled beneath with ateel colour; two ranges of small blackish spots along the back; scales smooth, eachswith a small brown dot near the point. Col. atro-virens; La Verte et jaune,"Lacep. I, vi, 1. Spotted™ with black and yellow above; beneath, of a ofcenian yellgws scales smooth. The south of France and Italy produce , Col. girondicus, Daud., which has nearly the same colgitts as the viperinus, but the scales are smooth, and the dorsal’ spots . smaller and more apart. Col. elaphis, Sh.; La Quatre-Raies, Lacep. Il, vii, 1. Fawn colour, with four tia 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. Hsculapii, Sh.(1) (The Serpent of Aisculapius.) Stouter than the elaphis, but not so long; brown above; straw colour beneath and on the flanks; dorsal scales nearly smooth. Found in Italy, Hungary, and Llyria. It is represented by the ancients in their statues of Asculapius, and the serpent of Epidaurus was probably of this species. The Colubers, foreign to Europe, are innumerable; some are re- markable for the vividness of their colours, others for the regularity of their distribution; the tints of several are tolerably uniform. But few of them attain a very large size.(2) (1) N.B. The Col. Zsculapii, Lin. isa very different, and an American species. (2) The Colubers presenting but few variations of structure that are interesting, I have not thought it necessary to enter into the long catalogue. It will be found in the works of Merrem, Gmelin, Daudin, and Shaw, It is necessary, how- ever, to consult them with much caution and critical nicety: they abound in trans- positions of synonymes, &c. For instance, the Col. viridissimus and the Col. jan- thinus, Merr., 1, xii, only differ from the effects of the spirit of wine;—the Col. horridus, Daud. Merr. II, x (Col. viperinus, Shaw), is the same as the demi-collier, Lac., Il, viii, 2;—the Coul. violette, Lacép., U, viii, 1, and the Col. regine, Mus. Ad. OPHIDIA. 65 Acrocuorpus, Hornst. This genus is easily known by the little uniform scales which co- ver the head and body, both above and beneath. In the species known, A. javensis, Lac. I, xi, 2; &4nguis 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 frugivorous—a singular habit for a serpent.(1) Serpents which are venomous, par excellence, or those with isolated fangs, have their organs of manducation constructed on a very peculiar plan. Their superior maxillary bones are very small, attached to a long pedicle, analogous to the external pterygoid apophysis of the sphenoid bone, and are very movable; in them is fixed a sharp pointed pervious tooth, 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, pro- duces effects; more or less violent, according to the species of the reptile in which it is secreted. This tooth, when the ani- mal 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. ‘These venomous teeth have been termed by naturalists movable 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 teeth are to be seen in the upper part of the mouth. fr. XIII, 2, only differ by the action of the spirit. Such, also, should be con- sidered the Col. lineatus, Seb. XH, 3; Mus. Ad. Fr. XII, 1, xx, 1;—-the Col. jacula- trix, Seb., I, 9, Scheuchz, DCCXYV, 2;—the Col. atratus, Seb. 1, 9, ix, 2, and even the terlineatus, Lacep. I, xiii, 1;—the Col. sibilans, Seb. 1, ix, 1, Il, lvi, 4; and the Coul. chapelet, Lacep. 1, xii, 1, appear equally alike, as well as the Col. Zscu- lapii, Jacq. and the /lavescens, Scopol. &c. &c. &c. As to the transposition of » synonymes, they are innumerable. N.B. The Enuyprus of Daud. would be non- venomous Colubers, with a compressed tail, but the only species he cites, Anguis xyphura, Herm. aff. an. p. 269, and Obs. Zool. p. 288, is evidently a Hydrophis or a Pelamis. (1) We have never been able to discover the particular bone Oppel. says he observed inthe Acrochordus, as taking the place of the poison-fangs, and M. Les- chenault assures us that the Acrochordus is harmless. Won wie 66 REPTILIA. All these venomous species, whose mode of production is well known, bring forth living young ones, as their eggs are hatched without being laid, from which circumstance is de- rived their common name of Vipers, a contraction of vivipa- rous. Venomous serpents with insulated fangs have external cha- racters 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 is a par- tial indication of their disposition. ‘They form two great ge- nera, CroraLus and Virera, the second of which has been variously subdivided, and some smaller ones which group around them. Crotatus, Lin.(1) Rattlesnakes are pre-eminently conspicuous for the intensity of their venom. As in Boa, there are transverse simple plates under the body and tail; but their most distinguishing character is the rattle which terminates the tail. It is formed by several scaly cor- nets loosely fitted into each other, wkich move and produce the pe- culiar noise from which they receive their name whenever they crawl or shake that part of the body. 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 nos- tril.(2) All the 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 sea- son; their natural disposition, however, is tranquil, and they are ra- ther 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 consists of birds, squirrels, &c. It has long been supposed that it possesses the faculty of rendering them powerless by its breath, or even of charming them, as it is called, by which they are compelled to leap into its mouth; this, however, is not so, and the reptile in (1) Crotalus, from «porarcy. (2) See Russel and Home, Phil. Trans. 1804, pl. iii, p. 76. OPHIDIA. 67 question ages its prey while under the agitation and terror pro- duced by its appearance. (1) In most of the species there are scales on the head similar to those on the back. Crot. horridus, L.; Catesb. II, xli, is the species most com- mon in the United States; brown, with irregular blackish trans- verse bands. That of Guiana, Crot. durissus(2) Lacep. II, xiii, . 2, 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 follows a wound from their fangs. They are sometimes found six feet in length. The head of some species is furnished with large plates. (3) We should approximate to the Rattlesnakes the TriconocErHaLus, Oppel.—Borurors, Sprx,—Coruias, Merr. Distinguished from them by the want of a rattle, but having the same pits behind the nostrils, and being equally venomous. The sub-caudal plates in some of them are simple, as in the Rat- tlesnake, their head being covered with plates to behind the eyes; their tail terminates in a small horny spur.(4) Such is Colub. tisiphone, Shaw; Catesb. II, xliii and xliv. 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.(5) Such among others is Trig. lanceolatus, Opp.3(6) Serpent jaune des Antilles, Lacep. II, v. 1. (The Lance-headed Viper.) The most dangerous (1) See Barton, Memoir on the power of fascination attributed, &c. Philad. 1796. (2) These names of durissus and horridus have been variously applied to these two species. (3) It is this subdivision which furnished M. Gray with his genus CroraLoprno- nus, and M. Fitzinger with that of Caudisona. The Crot. miliaris, L.. Catesb. I, xlii, belongs to it. _N.B. The C. horridus or the Diamond Rattlesnake, the C. durissus or the Banded Rattlesnake, and the C. miliaris or the Ground Rattlesnake, a smaller species, but the most dangerous of the three, all inhabit the United States. The most com- mon isthe durissus; the miliaris, although furnished like the others with an appa- ratus of three or four cornets at the end of the tail, can make no noise with them. The plates on the head are arranged as in the genus Coluber. 4m. Ed. (4) They are the Tistrnone of Fitzinger. (5) In the work of M. Fitzinger this division is called Crasrrpoceraatus; all the Bornnors, Spix, pl. xix—xxiii, belong to it. (6) This species inhabits Brazil, and most probably other parts of South Amer- ica; I am even inclined to think it is the Sowrowcow of Spix, pl. xxiii, which he considers the Crot. mutus or lachesis. 68 REPTILIA. reptile of the French Sugar islands; it is yellowish or vreyish, more or less varied with brownish, and attains the length of six feet; it lives among the sugar-canes, where it feeds on rats and occasions the death of many of the slaves.(1)_ The head of some of these Trigonocephali with double paren dal scales is furnished with plates.(2) Others, along with the small scales on the head, have double plates beneath 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.(3) Of this number is the Crot. mutus, L.3; Col. alecto, Sh.; Seb. Il, Ixxvi, 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 Rattlesnake. Virpera, Daud. The Vipers, most of which were confounded with the Colubers by Linnzus, on account of their double sub-caudal plates, require to be separated from them from the circumstance of their having poi- sonous fangs. ‘There are also some serpents which naturally belong to this division, whose sub-caudal plates are either wholly or par- tially 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 back.(4) Such is Vip. brachyura, Cuy.; Seb. Il, xxx, 1. (The Minute Viper.) The. intensity and activity of its poison render it one of the most terrible of the genus.(5) (1) Here comes the Trimérésure vert, Lacep., An. Mus. IV, lvi, 2, or Boodropam, Russel, Serp. Corom., 1X, 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. y (2) Fitzinger appropriates the name of TricoNnocErnatus to this subdivisicn. (3) It is the genus Lacnesis, Daud., adopted by Fitzinger, but badly charae- terized; 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. (4) This, with the following division, forms the subgenus Ecuipna of Merrem, . which, with his Echis, of which we shall speak hereafter, composes his genus Vi- _PERA. Fitzinger arranges our three first divisions in three genera, which he names Virrera, Cosnra, and Asris. (5) Add the Aspic. Lacep. I, ii, 1 (Vip. ocellata, Lath.), a large species allied to the atropos, Lin. Mus. Ad. Fred. XII; but very different from the aspis of Linnzus, which is a mere variety of the common species;—Vip. Clotho, Seb. IL, xciii, 1;— Vip. lachesis, 1d., XCIV, 2;—the Daboie, Lacep., II, xiii, 2, or the brasilienne, Id. IV, 1;—the Vip. élégante, Daud., Russel, VII, &c. gf GPHIDIAL ~ | 69 In others 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 longi- tudinal band, in which state it is the Colub. aspis, L.,(1) which is sometimes called .@spic in the neighbourhood of Paris. In- dividuals are found perfectly black.(2) Vip. illyrica, Aldroy. 169; Col. ammodytes; Vipére a museau cornu; Jacquin., Collect. IV, pl. xxiv and xxv. Similar 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. I, 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 ancients. Vip. lophophris, Cuv.; Vipere @ panache, Voy. de Patterson, pl. xv. Cuersyprus, Cuy.(1) The whole body as well as the head covered with small scales. Such is | Acrochordus fasciatus, Shaw; the Oular-limpé; Rept. pl. cxxx. A very venomous serpent, found on the bottom of rivers in Java.(2) FAMILY III. NUDA. Our third and last family of the 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 Caciiia, Lin.(3) ’ So called because its eyes, excessively small, are nearly hidden be- neath 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.(4) 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 articulation of the bodies of their vertebre is effected by hollow conical facets filled with a gelatinous cartilage, as in Fishes and in some of the last of the Batrachians; (1) Xegrudgor, the Greek name of the Col. natriz. (2) The Hydrus granulatus, Schn. must be closely allied to it. N.B. The H. caspius, enhydris, rhynchops, piscator and palustris, Schn. are mere common Vipers and Colubers. His Hydrus colubrinus is the Banded Pla- turus. (3) Cecilia, from rugre-1, is the Latin name of the Slow-worm (Orvet), which in several parts of Europe is still called blind, although it has very fine eyes. (4) A fact I have ascertained in the C. glutinosa, the White-bellied Cxcilia, &c. OPHIDIA. 75 the cranium is united to the first vertebra by two tubercles, as is also the case in the Batrachians. The maxillary bones cover the orbit, which resembles a very small hole, and those of the temples the temporal depression, so that the head above presents one con- tinuous bony buckler; the hyoid bone, composed of three pairs of arches, might induce us to suppose that at an early period it is fur- nished with branchize. The maxillary and palatine teeth are ar- ranged on two concentric lines, as in Proteus; but they are fre- quently sharp, and curved backwards, like those of Serpents, pro- perly so styled. The nostrils open behind the palate, and as the tympanal bone is fixed along with those that compose the cranial shield, there is no movable pedicle to the lower jaw. The auricle of the heart is not sufficiently divided in these animals to induce 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 lamellez. 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 cilia near the nostrils. Such is Cecilia annulata, Spix, xxvii, 1. Blackish, with eighty odd plice marked with white circles; teeth conical. Found in Brazil, where it lives in marshes, several feet beneath the sur- face. C. tentaculata, L.; Amen. Acad. I, xvii, 1. One hundred and thirty odd plicz, every other pair of which, particularly near the tail, does not completely encircle the body. It is black, marbled with white on the belly.(1) Others have a much greater number of plicz, or rather of close, transverse striz. Cze. glutinosa, L.; Seb. XXV, 2; and Mus. Ad. Fred. IV, 1, is of that number, having three hundred and fifty plicz, which unite beneath at an acute angle. It is blackish, with a longitudinal yellowish band along each flank. Found in Cey- lon.(2) (1) This Cecilia is not more tentaculated than others of its subdivision. Add, C. albiventris, Daud. VII, xcii, 1; if it is not the same as the tentaculata;—C. inter- rupta, Cuv. in which the white lines of the rings do not correspond with each other beneath;—C. rostrata, Cuv. witha more pointed muzzle, and no white edges to therings. It is hard to say why Spix attributes upwards of two hundred plicz to his annulaia; his figure shows but about eighty. (2) 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. Les- chenault; a closely allied species, it is true, inhabits the latter—Czxe. bivittata, Cuv. 76 REPTILIA. There are some in which the plice are almost effaced; their body is very long and slender, and their muzzle salient. One species is completely blind; the Czc. lumbricoides, Daud. VII, XCii, 2; it is blackish; two feet in length, and about the thick- ness of a goose-quill.(1) ORDER IV. ees, BATRACHIA.(2) The Batrachians have a heart composed of but one auricle and one ventricle. They all have two equal lungs, to which at first are added branchiz, that have some aflinity 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 branchie, and the apparatus which supports them, when they attain a state of maturity. Three genera only, Siren, Proteus, and Menobranchus, retain them for life. As long as these branchic remain, the aorta is divided at its origin into as many branches on each side as there are branchie. The branchial blood is brought back by veins which unite near the back in one arterial trunk, asin Fishes. It is from this trunk, or immediately from the veins which form it, that arise most of the arteries which nourish the body, and even those which conduct the blood to be oxygenated in the lungs. In those species, however, which lose their branchie, the attendant arteries are obliterated, with the exception of two, which unite in 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 (1) Linnzus mentions it, Mus. Ad. Fred., V, 2, but confounds it with the ¢en- taculata. We have the skeleton ofa Czcilia more than six feet long, and having two hun- dred and twenty-five vertebra, but of whose external characters we are ignorant. (2) From fe'rexyx 0s (Frog), animals analogous to Frogs. “BATRACHIA. e yi % wes od shell; a faked’ skin invests their body,(1) and, one genus ex- cepted ) they have no nails. The envelope of the ova is membranous, and, in many species, they are only fecundated at the moment of their ex- pulsion. ‘These eggs become greatly enlarged in the water. The young do not only differ from the adult in the presence of the branchie; their feet are developed by degrees, and in several species there are a beak and tail, which they subse- quently 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 hoe is soft, and not attached to the bot- tom 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 dilating, 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 abdomen: thus if we open.the belly of one of these animals while alive, the lungs dilate without being able to con- tract, 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 furnished with a spongy enlargement which increases during the nuptial season and assists in attaching him to the female. He fecun- dates the ovum at the moment of its expulsion. -The little animal that is produced from it, called a Tadpole, 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 Swammerdam assures us that this is owing (1) M. Schneider has proved that the Scaly Frog of Walbaum only appeared so fromm accident, a few scales from some Lizards. that were kept in the same jar haying adhered to its back. Schn. Hist., Amphib. Fasc. I, p. 168. 73 ; REPTILIA. to their withdrawing under the skin, i ie they fot the bran- chie. These latter are numerous small tufts attached to four cartilaginous arches, placed on each side of the neck, adhering to the hyoid bone, enveloped in a membranous tunic,and covered by the general skin. The water which enters the pbuh, 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 spe- cies. The hind feet of the Tadpole are very gradually and visibly developed; the fore feet are also developed, 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 branchiz are an- nihilated, leaving to the lungs alone the function of respiration in_ which they participated. The eyes which at first could only be dis- cerned through a transparent spot in the skin of the Tadpole, are now visible with their three lids. The intestines, which, in the be- ginning, were 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 win- ter under ground, or in the the mud under water, without eating or breathing, though if we prevent it from respiring during the sum- mer 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 extremely 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 interrupted 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.; Reesel. Ran. pl. xiii, xiv. (The Green Frog.) A fine green spotted with blacks three yellow streaks on the _ back; belly yellowish. A common species in Europe in all stagnant waters, and very annoying by its ceaseless nocturnal clamour. Its flesh is a wholesome and agreeable food. The female exclude her ova in bundles in the marshes, &c. BATRACHIA. 79 R. temporaria, L.; Reesel. Ran. pl. i, li, ui. (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 fre- quently than the preceding, and is not so noisy. Its tadpole is’ not so large at the epoch of its metamorphosis. R. cultripes, Cuv. Every where sprinkled with black spots; feet simply palmate; particularly remarkable for a horny and trenchant scale which invests the vestige of the sixth toe. From ~ the south of France. Among the Frogs foreign to Europe we may remark, R. paradora, L.; Seb. I, Ixxviiis; Merrian, Surin. LXXI; Daud., Gren. XXII, XXIII (The Jakie), whose tadpole ac- quires a size previous to its complete metamorphosis greater than that of any other species of the genus. The loss of an enormous tail and the envelopes of the body, causes the adult animal to be smaller than the tadpole, a circumstance which induced the earlier observers to believe that it was the Frog which was metamorphosed into a tadpole, or, as they express- ed it, into a Fish. This error is now completely refuted. The Jakie is greenish spotted with brown, and is particularly distinguished by irregular brown lines along its thighs and legs. From Guiana. There are several other Frogs fondigh to Europe, some of which are very large and not well determined.(1) Such is R. pipiens, L.; Catesb. II, Ixxii. (The Bull-Frog.) Green above, yellowish beneath, spotted and marbled with black.(2) The hind toes of certain species are almost without a web, but still very long.(3) (1) 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 Hylz, however, must be excepted; they are much better than his Frogs and Toads. (2) Iam 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 largest is the mugiens of Merrem, but we cannot depend upon his synonymes. The fig. of Daud. XVIII, with a yellow stripe along the back, is a species from {ndia. Add: R. palmipes, Spix, V, 1;—R. tigrina, Daud. XX;—R. virginica, Gmel. Seb., I, xxv, 4, or halecina, Daud., or pipiens, Merr., Catesb. LXX;—R. clamitans, Daud., XVI. N.B. This last species is the young of the Bull-Frog. Am. Ed. (3) Rana ocellata, L. Seb. I, Ixxv, 1, Lacep. 1, xxxviii, Daud. XIX;—A. gigas, 80 REPTILIA. — CERATOPHRIS, Boié. Frogs with a broad head; skin granulate, either wholly or in part; a membranous prominence to each eye-lid resembling a horn.(1) In ‘some the tympanum is concealed under the skin.(2) 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, attached 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 DacryLernra.(3) ‘ Hyra, Laur.—Caramira, Schn. and Merr. Tree-Frogs only differ from 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 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 when- ever he cries. Rana arborea, L.; Rees., Ran. pl. ix, x, xi. (The Common Tree-Frog.) Green above, pale beneath; a black and yellow Spix, I;-—R. pachypus, 1d. 11;—R. coriacea, Id. V, 2;—R. sibilatrix, Pr. Max.; —R. maculata, Daud., XVII, 2;—R. rubella, Ib. 1;—R. typhonia, Ib. 4, which is not, as Merrem thinks, the virginica, Gm.;—R. punctata, Ib. XVI, 1;—R. mystacea, Spix, 11, 2—3;—R. militaris and R. pygmzxa, Id. V1;—R. labyrinthica, Id. VII. [Add R. fontanalis, L. C.;—R. palustris, 1d.;—R. sylvatica, 1d.;—R. pumila, 1d.;—R. gryllus, 1d.;—R. nigrita, 1d., Ann. of the Lyceum. Am. Ed.] (1) Ceratophris varius, B, or Rana cornuta, Seb. 1, 1xxii, 1—2; Tiles., Mag. de Berl., 1809, 2d Trim. pl. iii, and Krusenst. Voy. pl. vi, or Ceratophris dorsata, Pr. Max. 2me livr.;—Cerat. Spizii, Cuv. or R. megastoma, Spix,1V, 1;—A. seutata, Ib. 2;—Cerat. Daudini, Cuv., Daud. xxxviii;—Cerat. clypeata, Cuv. (2) Ceratophris granosa, Cuv., one of those Frogs with a concealed tympanum, of which Gravenhorst has made his genus Sromsus; but they have teeth like the others, and should not be approximated to the Toads, where Fitzinger has placed them. (3) From d2x)van$ex (thimble): such is the form of their nails. The Crapaud lisse, Daud. pl. xxx, f. 1, is a bad figure, the hind feet being altogether wrong; it forms the Pipa levis, Merr.. The Pipa bufonia, Merr. or pretended male Pipa, Enl. No. 21, f. 2, is also the same species, but drawn without nails. These species of Merrem constitute the Exeysroma of Fitzinger, but the true Engystome or the Breviceps, Merr. have neither teeth nor nails. BATRACHIA. Sl line along each side of the body. They are adult in four years, and couple towards the end of April. The tadpole completes its metamorphosis in the month of August. The Hyle foreign to Europe are numerous, and some of them beautiful. One of the largest and handsomest,is . Hf. bicolor, Daud., VIII; and Spix, XIII. Sky-blue above, rose-colour beneath. From South America. A still larger epreres) A; oe ef palmata, Daud. XX; Rana maxima, L., is transversely and itrepularly striped with red and fawn-colour. From North America.(1) On account of the singular property attributed to it we may mention the Rana tinctoria, L. It is said that if some of the feathers of a Parrot be plucked out and the skin be imbued with the blood of this animal, it causes a reproduction of red or yel- low feathers, and forms that peculiar appearance which is termed by the French tapiré. We are assured it is a brown species, with two whitish bands transversely united in two places (Daud. pl. viii); the toes of the hind feet are almost free.(2) Buro, Laur. Toads have a thick, bulky body covered with warts or papill; a thick lump behind the ears pierced with pores, from which issues a » milky and fetid humour; no teeth; the hind feet but slightly elon- gated. They leap badly, and generally avoid the water. They are hideous and disgusting animals, whose bite, saliva, urine, &c., are considered, though erroneously, as poisonous. Bena bufo, L.; Rees. Ran. XX. (The Common Toad.) Red- dish- -grey, or Rbelipervin’ sometimes olive or blackish; the back covered with rounded tubercles as large as lentils; smaller and (1) Add, of palmated species, Hyl. venulosa, Daud., XIX, or ‘Cal. boans, Merr. Seb., I, lxxii;—Z. tibicen, Seb. Ib. 1, 2,3;—H. marmorata, Seb. I, Ixxi, 4, 5, Daud. XVIII;—Z. lateralis, Catesb. Il, Ixxi, Daud., 11;—H. bilineata, Daud. I11;— A. verrucosa;—H. oculata;—H. frontalis, Id. and in Spix; Hyl. bufonia, XI1;—H. geografica, pi EES; 8 albomarginata, VIM, 2;—H. papillaris, 2;—H. pardalis, 3;— H. cinerascens, 4;—H. affinis, VU, 3. (2) Add of species whose hind toes are but slightly palmate, H. femoralis, Daud. IV;-Z. squirella, Daud. V;—H. trivittata, &c. Spix, 1X;—H. abbreviata, Id. XI, 4 [Add H. delitescens, L. C. and #7. versicolor, Id. loc. cit. Am. Ed.] The Hyla cyanea, Daud. of New Holland, according to White, p. 248, has but four toes behind, and M. Fitzinger, who appears to have seen it, has consequently formed it into his genus Catamira. We have one from the same country, and exactly similar, which certainly has five. Vornolh—— bh, 82 REPTILIA,. more closely set tubercles on the belly; the hind feet semi-pal- mate. It remains in dark places, and passes the winter in a hole which it excavates. It couples in the water in March and April; when this takes place on shore, the female drags herself to some ditch, kc., carrying the male with’ her: she produces innumerable smell ova, united by a transparent kind of jelly in two strings, that are often twenty or thirty feet long, in the ex- traction of which the male assists with his hind feet. The Tad-. pole is blackish, and is the smallest of the European species, at the period when it acquires legs and loses its tail. The Com- mon Toad lives upwards of fifteen years, and is adult at four. Its cry has some resemblance to the barking of a dog. Rh. bufo calamita, Gm.; Res. XXIV; Daud. XXVII, 1. Olive eolour; tubercles, as in the preceding; but not such large swell- ings 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. It also climbs up walls, to seek a shelter in their crevices, and for that purpose has two. little osseous tubercles under the palm of the hands. It never yisits the water except to couple, in the month of June; the female lays two strings of eggs, like the Com- mon Toads; the voice of the male, which has also a sac under the throat, resembles that of the Tree Frog. Bufo fuseus, Laurent.; Rana bombina, 1, Gm.; Res. XVII, + XVIII. (The Natter Jack.) Light brown marbled with dark brown or blackish; tubercles on the back but few, and the size of lentils; the belly smooth; toes of the hind feet elongated, and . completely 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 Com- mon 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 sume places as if it were a fish. . Ran. variabilis, Gm.; Crapaud vert, Lacép. 5 Pall. Spicil Vil, vi, 34; Daud. xxviii, 2. 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. obstreticus, Laur.; Le Crap. accoucheur, Daud. pl. xxxii, f..1. Small; grey above; whitish beneath; blackish points on the back, and whitish ones on the sides. ‘The male assists his fe- BATRACHIA. 83 male in the expulsion of the eggs, which are large, and fastens them on his thighs, in bundles, by means of some glutinous threads. He carriés 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 hatch- ed; 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.(1) Sicily produces a toad three or four times larger than those of France, that is brown, with flat and irregular tubercles. It is generally found in the tuft of a palm. We will call it Pufe palmarum. _ The Toads, foreign to Europe, have hitherto been badly deter- mined; several are remarkable for their size. Rana marina, Gm.; Le Crapaud agua; Daud. XX VII; Spix, XV. Brown, varied with dark brown; unequal and slightly sa- lient tubercles; the triangular parotids more than an inch wide in individuals, which. are from ten to twelve inches long, exclu- sive of the feet. Found in the marshy districts of South Ame- rica.(2) "Several subgenera have been lately separated from that of the Toads; thus the _Bomepinator, Merr. Only differs from the others in the tympanum being concealed under the skin; such in France is the Rana bombina, Gm.; Crapaud a ventre jaune; Rees. XXII; Daud. XXVI. The ainaiticst and most aquatic of all the Toads of that country. Itis 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(3) (1) Me is impossible to say why Merrem placed the odstetricus among his Bembi- natores—its tympanum is very visible. (2) Add, Bufo maculiventris, Spix, XV, should it prove to differ from the agua;— B. ictericus, Id. XVI, 1;—B. lazarus, Id. xvii, 1;—B. stellatus, Id. XVI, 1;—B. seaber, Daud., XXXIV, which is not the same as the B. scaber of Spix, X, 1;—B bengalensis, 1d. xxxv, 1;—B. musicus, 1d. XXXII, 2;—B. cinctus, Pr. Mas. fase. 3: the B. agua, Id. fasc. 7, does not appear to be the same as that of Spix. {Add B. americanus, L. ©. . Am. Ed.] (3) Add Bufo ventricosus, Daud., XXX, 2, the turgidity of which is exaggerated. 84 REPTILIA. RuinE.ius, Fitzing.—Oxyryncuus, Spix, aiies a muzzle pointed anteriorly.(1) We should approximate to it the OriLopuis, Cuv. Where the muzzle is also angular, and where. there is a crest on each side of the head which extends over the parotid. The Crapaud perlé, (Ran. margaritifera, Gm.,) Daud. XXXIII, is its type. Brevicers, Merr.—Eneystoma, Fitzing., partim. . Toads without a visible tympanum or parotid, in which the body is oval, head and mouth very small, and the feet but slightly palmated.(2) A more essential difference is that whicly has separated the Pipe of Laurenti from all the great genus Rana. ; Pira, Laur. This subdivision is distinguished by a horizontally flattened body; a broad and triangular head; by the absence of a tongue; by a tym- panum 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 movable bones, which can be made to close the entrance to the bronchiz.(3) ‘The species formerly known, Rana. pipa, L.3 Seb. I, Ixxvii; Daud., xxxi, xxxii, is found at Cayenne and Surinam in dark ‘places about the houses. Its back is granulated, with three lon- gitudinal ranges of larger granules. When the ova are expel-_ (1) Bufo proboscideus; Spix, XXI, 4;—the neighbouring species figured on the same plate, B. semilineatus, B. granulosus, B. acutirostris, and those of pl. xiv, naricus and nasutus, connect this subgenus too closely with the common Toads to be easily retained. (2) Engystoma dorsatum, Nob., or Bufo gibbosus, Auct., Seb., Il, 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., XXXII, 2, is already larger, as well as in the Bufo globulosus and albifrons, Spix, XIX. N.B. The Eng. ovalis, Fitz. is od Doane his Eng. ventricosd, Daud. XXX, 2, is a Bombinator. N.B. The Bufo ephippiwm, Spix, XX, 2, of which Fitzinger makes his genus. BRAcHYCEPHALUS, on account of there being but three toes to all the feet, may be ~ a young specimen badly preserved or incorrectly figured. (3) Described by Schneider under the name of Crista sternalis. BATRACHIA. 85 led, 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 tadpole 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 returns to land. Spix figures one of them pl. 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.(1) SALAMANDRA, Brogn. Salamanders have an elongated body, four feet and along tail, which gives them the general form of Lizards, with which Linnzus placed them: but they have all the characters of Batrachians. Their head is flattened; the ear completely hidden under the mus- cles, without any tympanum, having nothing but a small cartilagi- nous plate on the fenestra ovalis; the two jaws furnished with nume- rous 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 Tor- toises. Their tadpoles at first breathe by means of branchiz re- sembling tufts, three on each side of the neck, which are subse- quently obliterated; they are suspended to cartilaginous arches, ves- tiges of which remain in the hyoid bone of the adult. A membra- nous operculum covers these openings, but the tufts are never en- closed by a tunic, and always float externally. The fore feet are developed before the hind ones; the toes appear successively in the - first and the last. SALAMANDRA, Laur. The terrestrial Salamanders in a perfect state have a round tail, and 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. (1) There is a true Pipa in the Cabinet du Roi, from Rio Negro, -_ entirely smooth, and with an unusually narrow head. It will be my Pipal 8, very dif- ferent from that of Merrem, which is a Dactylethra. : 86 REPTILIA. 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, pl. xxx; Lacert. salamandra, L. Black, with large spots of a bright yellow; ranges of tuber- cles on the sides, from which, when agitated by fear, oozes a milky, bitter liquid, that has astrong odour and is poisonous to. very weak animals. It is, perhaps, this circumstance which “has given rise to the fable of the incombustibility of the Sala- mander. 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 branchie, and their tail is vertically compressed. (1) A Salamander resembling the common one, but entirely black . and immaculate, is found in the Alps, it is the Sal. atra, Lau- qenrent.’ pl. 1, fi 2. x Be Sal. perspicillata, Savi. Only four toes to all the feet; black above; yellow, spotted with black beneath: a yellow line across the eyes. A small species from the Apennines.(2) North America, which produces many more Salamanders than Europe, has several that are terrestrial, with a round tail, but defi- cient in the glands on the occiput.(3) | Triton, Laur. Aquatic Salamanders always retain the vertically compressed tail, - and pass nearly the whole of their existence in the water. ~The ex- ‘periments of Spallahzani on their astonishing power of reproduction, ‘have rendered them celebrated. If a limb be amputated, another is reproduced in its stead with all its bones, muscles, vessels, &c. and this takes place several times in succession. Another not less sin- gular faculty, discovered by Dufay, is the power they possess of remaining enclosed in ice for a considerable time without perishing. Their eggs are fecundated by the seminal fluid diffused in the water, which enter the oviduct together; they are expelled in long (1) See, Ad, Fred. Funck., de Salam. terrest. vita, evolutione, formatione, Berlin, fol. 1827. (2) We have ascertained that the Sal. d trois doigts, Lacép. II, pl. 36, is merely | a dried and somewhat mutilated specimen of the Sal. aig oom S. Savi, Gosse. (3) Sal. venenosa; Daud., or subviolacea, Barton;—Sal. fintiades Green;—Sal, tigrina, Id.;—Sal. erythronota, 1d.;—Sal. bilineata, 1d.;—Sal. rubra, Daud. VII, pl. 91, f. 2;—S. variolata, Gilliam. Sc. Nat. Phil., L pl. xviii, f. 1, and several new species. The Sal. japonica, Houtuin, Bechst. trans. of Lacep., sg Lp). 18, fds closely allied to the erythronota. ’ , »* BATRACHIA. 87 chaplets; the young are not hatched until the fifteenth day, and re- tain their branchiz 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 orna- ments of the males are only well developed in the spring, the species have not been determined with certainty. When winter surprises them with their branchiz, they retain them till the following year, always increasing in size.(1) S. marmorata, Latr.; Triton Gesnert, Laur. Skin, granu- lated; 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 flancs tachetés, Bechst. tr. Lac. pl. xx. Skin granulated; slate coloured and brown above; orange or red belly; a band of numerous small black spots on each flank. S. cristata, Latr. 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. Skin, smooth;,a light brown above; pale or red beneath; round black spots every where; black streaks _* onthe head; crest of the male festooned; the toes somewhat . widened, but not palmate. ' S. palmata, Latr. Back brown; top of the head vermiculated with brown and blackish; paler on the flanks, with round black- ish spots; belly immfaculate. The male has three small dorsal crests; toes dilated and united by membranes, and the tail ter- minated by a small filament.(2) 4 Several aquatic Salamanders are also found in North America.(3) Skeletons of a Salamander three-feet in length have been disco- vered among the schist of Giningen. One of them is the pretended Fossil Man of Scheucher. (1) It was from an individual which had thus retained its branchiz that ‘Lau- renti made his Proteus tritonius. (2) The characters of the European species appear to me to be such as are most conformable 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. (3) Sal. symmetrica, Harl. which appears to me previously represented in ‘Bechstein’s Lacép. Hl, pl. xviii, f. 2, under the name of Sal. punctata; and several species whose descriptions I could not recognize, and which richly merit a mono- graph, accompanied by good figures. 88 REPTILIA. Immediately after the Salamanders come several very simi- lar animals, some of which are considered as having been al- ways destitute of branchig, 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, however, which does not prevent their having lungs like the Batra- chians, so that they may be considered as the only vertebrate animals which are truly amphibious.(1) The former (those in which no branchiz’ are visible) con- stitute two genera. » ‘Menoroma, Harlan. (2) 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 Americas Ann. of the New York Lyc. I, pl. 17, (The Hellbender.) From fifteen to eighteen inches long; a blackish blue; inhabits the lakes and the rivers of the interior. AmpuiuMa, Garden. © An ofifice on each side of the neck, but the body excessively lon: gated; 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. tridactylum, Cuv.; -3 and in another, Amph. means, Gard. and Hart. but two—Mem. du Mus. XIV, pl. 1.(3) ; - . (1) 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 indubitable facts presented to us in natural history; there are now before me the lungs of a Siren three feet long, in which the vascular apparatus is as well ae eveloped and as complex as in any reptile whatever, notwithstanding which, the branchiz of this same animal were as complete as those of others. (2) Dr Harlan first called them Asrancuvs; Leukard and ‘Fitzinger call them Crrproprancuus, and others Proronoprsts. f (8) The Amphiuma was known to Linnzus, but at too late a period to allow him to insert it in any of the editions of his system which appeared during his life. It has been described since by Dr Mitchell, under the name of Chrysodonta larve- Jormis, and by Dr Harlan under that of Amphiuma. I have described the Amph. ° tridactylum of Louisiana, which attains the length of three feet. See Mém. 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. - BATRACHIA. 89 Among those which always retain their branchiz, the AXOLOTUS Is in every respect similar to the larva of-an aquatic Salamander, having four toes before, five behind, three long tufted branchiz, &c. The maxillary teeth are like velvet, and those on the vomer in two bands. Such is the Stren pisciformis, Shaw; the 2zolotl of the Mexicans; Gen. Zool. vol. III, part ii, pl. 140; Humb. Zool. Obs. I, pl. 12. From eight to ten inches long; grey, spotted with black. It inhabits the lake that surrounds Mexico.(1) Menoprancuus, Harl.—WVecturus, Raffin. But four toes to all the feet; a range of teeth in the intermaxillaries, and another, parallel, but more extended, in the maxillaries. The species most known, Menobranchus lateralis, Harl.; Tri- ton lateralis, Say; Ann. of the New York Lyc. I, pl. xvi, inha- bits 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.—Hyrocuron, Merr. But three toes before and only two behind. Hitherto but a single species has been discovered, Proteus anguinus, Laur. pl. IV, f. 3; Daud., VIII, xcix, 1; Siren an- guina, Schn.. More than a foot long, about the thickness of a finger, with a vertically compressed tail and four small legs. Its muzzie is elongated and depressed; its two jaws furnished with teeth; its tongue but slightly movable 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 (1) It is with some hesitation that I place the Axolotl among the genera with permanent branchiz, but so many witnesses assure us that it does not lose them that lam compelled to do so. Vou. Il.—M 90 REPTILIA. SIREN, Lin. . Sirens are elongated animals, almost anguilliform, with three bran- chial 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.(1) S. lacertina, L. Blackish, and attains the length of three feet; four toes to each foots; tail compressed into an obtuse fin. It inhabits the marshes of Carolina, the rice swamps particu- larly, where it lives in the mud, occasionally going on shore or into the water. It feeds on lumbrici, insects, &c.(2) There are two much smaller species, S. intermedia, Le Conte, Ann. New York Lyc., IT, Dec. 1826, pl. 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, Ib. I, pl. 4. Blackishs; two longitudinal yellow streaks on each side; only three toes; the branchial tufts but slightly fringed; length nine inches.(3) (1) It is in vain that some authors have recently endeavoured to revive the an- cient idea, that the Siren is the ¢adpole of the Salamander. We possess speci- mens 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 (90), and differently shaped vertebrz 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. (2) 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.” (3) The branchiz 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 Pseupoprancuts; 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 Lacertinidz, are perfect animals. 91 CLASS IV. PISCES. The class of Fishes is composed of oviparous vertebrata with a double circulation, but in which respiration is alto- _gether effected through the medium of water. For this pur- pose, on each side of the neck, they have an apparatus called branchiz, which consist of laminee suspended on arches that are attached to the hyoid bone, each composed of numerous sepa- rate lamine and covered with a tissue of innumerable blood- vessels. The water which the fish swallows, escapes between these lamine through the branchial openings, and by means of the air it contains, acts upon the blood that is continually arriving in the branchie from the heart, which only repre- sents the right auricle and ventricle of warm-blooded animals. This blood, having received the benefit, of 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 natation, 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. Ina great num- ber of species, immediately under the spine there is a bladder filled with air, which, by compression or dilatation, varies the specific gravity of the fish and assists it to rise or descend. Progression is effected by the motions of the tail, which, by striking the water alternately right and left, forces them for- ward; the branchi, by impelling the water backwards, may also 92 PISCES. contribute to this effect. ‘The limbs being thus of but little use, are greatly reduced; the parts analogous to the bones of the arms and legs are extremely short, or even completely concealed ; rays, more or less numerous, which support mem- branous fins, form a rude representation of the fingers and toes. The fins which correspond to the anterior extremities are termed pectorals, and those which answer to the posterior ones, ventrals. Other rays attached to particular bones placed on or between the extremities of the spinous apophyses sup- port vertical fins on the back, under the tail, and at its ex- tremity, which, by being raised or lowered, increase or di- minish the surface which strikes against the water. The su- perior fins are called dorsal, the inferior anal, and that at the end of the tail caudal. The rays are of two kinds; some of them consist of a single bony piece, usually hard and pointed, sometimes flexible and elastic, divided longitudinally—these are called spinous rays ; others are composed of a great num- ‘ber 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 want- ing. The bone which is analogous to the scapula, is some- times held among the muscles as in the higher animals, and at others is attached to the spine, but most commonly it is sus- pended on the cranium. ‘The pelvis rarely adheres to the spine, and very frequently, instead of being behind the abdo- men, is before it, and connected with the humeral apparatus. The vertebre of Fishes are united by concave surfaces filled with cartilage which most generally communicate by a canal excavated in the axis of the vertebre. In most of them they have long spinous processes which maintain the vertical form of the body. The ribs are frequently soldered to the transverse processes. The head 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. PISCES. 93 The frontal bone is composed of six pieces; the parietal of three; the occipital of five; five pieces of the sphenoides 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 one after the other, Fishes have 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 membrane. The cornea of their eye is very flat, and there is but little aqueous humour, but the crystalline is very hard and almost ~~ globular. _ Their ear consists of a sac representing the vestibule, in which are suspended small bodies most commonly of a stony hardness, and of three membranous semi-circular canals, situ- “ated in the cavity of the cranium rather than in the substance of its parietes, the Chondropterigii excepted, in which they _are entirely contained in them. The eustachian tube and tympanal bones are always deficient, and the Selachians alone have a fenestra ovalis which is level with the head. The sense of taste in Fishes can have but little energy, as a great portion 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 organs 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. 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 anterior jaw, and furnishes, behind, an ar- ticulation for the lower jaw, which generally has two bones on each side; the number of these pieces, however, is reduced in the Chondropterygii. ~ Teeth are found in their intermaxillary, maxillary, lower jaw, vomer, bones of the palate, on the tongue, on the arches 94 ' PISCES. of the branchie, and even on bones behind these arches, at- tached like them to the hyoides, 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 furnished on each side with, rays which support the branchial membrane.. A sort of lid composed. of three bony pieces, the operculum, the subopereulum, and. the inter- operculum, 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 — of the Chondropterygii this apparatus is wanting, ” The stomach and intestines differ in size, figure, thickness and circumvolutions, as greatly as in the other clases. The pancreas, except in the Chondropterygii, is replaced, either by cecums of a peculiar tissue situated round the pylorus, or by the tissue itself applied to the beginning of the intestine. 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, two sacs about the same form and size, in whose internal folds are deposited the eggs. Some 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 matrix, and they produce either living ones _ hi or eggs enveloped with a horny substance. In most Fishes, ’ however, copulation does not take place, the female depositing her ova, and the male impregnating them after extrusion. Of all the classes of animals, that of fishes is the most diffi- cult to sub-divide into orders from fixed and sensible charac- ters. After many attempts, I have decided upon adopting the following arrangement, which, though it militates in some in- stances against precision, does not separate natural families. Fishes form two distinct series, that of Fishes, properly PISCES. 95 so styled, and that of the Cuoyroprervan, otherwise called CarTILAGINOUS FIsHEs. : A é The general character of the latter, consists in the absence of the bones of the upper jaw, whose place i is supplied by those of the palate ; their whole structure also exhibits evident ana- logies which we will describe): it is divided into three orders. The CycLostromi, whose jaws are’soldered in an immova- ble ring, with branchial openings. The SELACHII, which have the branchiz of the Cyclostomi but not their jaws. The SturRiongs, whose branchial opening is the usual fis- sure furnished with, an operculum. The other series, | , or that of the Orpinary FisHEs, pre- _ sents a primary division. in those where the maxillary bone and the palatine arch are fixed to the cranium: they consti- tute an order which I call that of the Puecroenarui, and are divided into two families: the GyMNoponres and the SCLERODERMI. | | I next find fishes with perfect jaws, but whose branchie, instead of being pectiniform, resemble a series of small tufts 5 they also constitute an order which I call LopHoprancau, 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 much long, and laborious 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 fin. Thus the ordinary fishes are divided into MaLacorreryeit, where all the rays are soft, with the occasional exception of the first of the dor- sal 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 where some of the same are always found in the anal fin, and at least one in each of the ventrals. The first may be divided by a reference to the position of their ventral fins, which are sometimes situated behind the 96 PISCES. abdomen, sometimes suspended to the apparatus of the shoul- der, or are totally wanting: _ We thus arrive at the three orders of the MALAcorTERYGII ABDOMINALES, the SUBBRACHIATI and the Aropgs, each of which comprizes certain natural families to be described. The | first is particularly numerous. It is impossible, however, to apply this mode of division to the ACANTHOPTERYGII3 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: | It is, besides, impossible to assign to th 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 imperfec- tion of the skeleton in others allies them to the Mollusca 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 exercise 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. ACANTHOPTERYGII. The Acanthopterygii form the first and by far the most numerous division 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 ee . 4 ; ACANTHOPTERYGII. 97 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 multi- plied, and their different natural families present so much va- ‘riety in the apparent characters which we might suppose would indicate orders or other subdivisions, 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. PERCOIDES.(1) This family is so called because its type is the Common Perch. It comprehends fishes with oblong bodies, covered with scales that are generally hard or rough, and whose oper- culum or preoperculum, and frequently both, have dentated or spinous edges, and whose jaws, the fore-part of the vomer, and generally 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 Percoies TuorAcict. They were nearly all comprised by Linneus in his genus _Perca, but we have been compelled to divide them as fol- lows, from the number of the branchial rays, that of the dorsal fin and the nature of the teeth. In the first subdivision we find seven rays in the branchiz, two fins on the back, and all the teeth small and crowded.(2) (1) In my first edition this family also comprehended the Buccz Loricatx, the Scienoides andthe Sparovdes. It was necessary to detach these three new families from it, and I think I have been fortunate enough to discover sufficient characters for that purpose. (2) The original expression en velours is one of the many instances in which the Vou. Il.—N 98 PISCES. Perca, Cuyv. The true Perches have the preoperculum dentated; the bony oper- culum terminated by two or three sharp points and a smooth tongue. Sometimes the sub-orbital and the humeral are slightly dentated. P. fluvialis, L.; Bl. 52. (The Common Perch.) Greenish; — broad, vertical, blackish bands; ventral fins, and the anal red; one of the most beautiful and best of the European fresh water fishes. It inhabits 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.(1) Lasrax, Cuv. Distinguished from the Perches by scaly opercula terminating in two spines, and by a rough tongue. L. lupus, Cuy. Perca labrax, L.; Sc. diacantha, Bl. 302; Bars Commun; Spigola of the Italians; Cuv. and Val. II, xii A large fish found on the coast of Europe; it is highly flavoured, and of a silvery hue. It is particularly common in the Medi- terranean, and is the Lupus of the Romans and the Labraz of the Greeks. The young ones are usually spotted, with brown. The United States produce a large and beautiful species, Labr. lineatus, Cuv. Sciena lineata, Bl. 304; Perca saxatilis, Bl. Schn. pl. 20, with longitudinal blackish stripes.(2) We might also separate from Labrax a species of the United States whose scales extend to the maxillary bone, Labrax mu- cronatus, Cuy. and Val. II, xii. The Lates, Cuv. Hardly differs from the Perch except in having deep notches and words of our author bid defiance to all English synonymes. By this term he means to convey the idea of numerous small teeth placed so close together as to resemble the pile on velvet. Am. Ed. : (1) Perc. flavescens, Cuv. and Val., I, p. 46;—P. serrato-granulata, Ib. 47;-—— P. granulata, tb. 48, and pl. ix;—P. acuta, Ib. 49, and pl. x;—P. gracilis, Ib. 50. Add, P. Plumieri, or Sciezna Plumieri, Bl. 306, or Centropome Plumier and Cheilodiptére chrysoptére, Lacép. U1, xxxiii;—P. ciliata, Kuhl;—P. marginata, Cuv. and Val. 53. (2) It is also the Perca Mitchilli, New York Trans. y. I, 413. [The Common Rockfish of our market. 4m. Ed.} ’ Add Perca elongata, Geoff., Eg., pl. xix, 1;—Labr. waigiensis, Less. and Garn., Cuy. and Val., I, 33;—~Labr. japonicus, Cuv. I, 85. 4 ACANTHOPTERYGIIL. 99 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. pl. ix, f. 1. A very large and excellent fish of a silver colour, known to the ancients by the name of Latus or Lates. Other species are found in the rivers of India,(1) Centropomus, Lacep. The preoperculum dentated, but the operculum obtuse and un- armed. Only one species is known.(2) Centrop. undecimalis, Cuv.; Sciena undecimalis, Bl. 3033 Cuv. and Val. II, xiv. A large and excellent fish, known throughout 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.(3) . GRrAMMISTES, Cuv. 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 ona blackish ground. They inhabit the Indian Ocean.(4) Aspro, Cuy. The body elongated; the two dorsals separate; ventrals broad; teeth small and crowded; head depressed; the muzzle extending be- yond the mouth and terminating in a rounded point. (1) The Péche naire of Pondichery, or Cockup of the English at Calcutta (Lates nobilis, Cuy.) Russ. I, cxxxi, Cuy. and Val. I, xiii, which is also the Holo- centre heptadactyle, Lacép.;—Holoc. calcarifer, Bl. 244. (2) Lacép. in his genus Centropomus, comprehends several Fishes which have not its characters, such as the Labrax lupus, the lates, &c. (3) Bl. pl. 305, has improperly given it a red tinge; the Sphyréne orvet, Lacép., V, pl. iv, f. 2, is nothing else than a bad figure of this Fish; it is also the Camuri of Marcgrave. (4) Gram. orientalis, Bl., Cuv. and Val., I, pl. xxvii. La Seiéne rayée, Lacép. TV, 323; his Perséque tricanthe, Ib. 424; his Per. pentacanthe, Ib.; his Bodian six raves, Ib. 302; his Centropome six raies, V, 690; the Perca bilineata, Thunb. Nov. Act. Stokh. XII, pl. v, p. 142, appear to be varieties of it. 100 PISCES. Two species inhabit the fresh waters of Europe; their flesh is light and agreeable. Aspro vulgaris, Cuv.; Perca asper, L.; Bl. 107, 1 and 23 Cuv. and Val. II, xxvi. From the Rhone and its tributaries; green- ish; three or four blackish vertical bands; eight spines in the first dorsal. A. Zingel; Perca Zingel, 1.3 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 conformation gives rise to several subgenera. Hvuro, Cuv. and Val. All the characters of a true Perch, except that the preoperculum is not dentated.(1) Erexis, Cuy. and Val. All the characters of a true Perch; hooked teeth in'the jaws, but not as in the Lucio-Perca, in the palate.(2) Nipuon, Cuv. and Val. : Teeth as in the Perch, and strong spines at the lower part of the preoperculum, and on the operculum.(3) Enopiosus, Lacep. 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.(4) Dirtoprion, Kuhl and Van Hassel. All the characters of a Perch; body compressed; a double den- tated border on the lower part of the re de and two spines on the operculum. (5) Apocon, Lacep. Body short, furnished, as well as the opercula, with large scales that are easily dislodged; the two dorsals very separate, and a double (1) Huro nigricans, Cuv. and Val., I, pl. xvii. (2) Etelis carbunculus, Ib. pl. xviii. (3) Miphon spinosus, Ib. XIX. (4) Enoplosus armatus, Ib. XX, or Chetodon einai: J. White. (5) Diploprion fasciatum, Cuy. and Val. IL, xxi. “ACANTHOPTERYGIL, 101 dentated border on the preoperculum. ‘They are small fishes, and generally red. One of them, Ap. rex mullorum, Cuy.; Mullus imberbis, L.; commonly called _ Roi des Rougets, Cuv. Mém. du Mus. I, 336 and pl. xi, f. 2, _ three inches long; red; a black spot on each side of the tail; is found in the Mediterranean.(1) CHEILODIPTERUS, Lacep. All the characters of the Apogons, 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.(2) Pomatomus, Riss. Two separate dorsals like the Apogons, and the scales dislodged with the same facility; but the preoperculum is simply striate, the operculum emarginate, and the eye enormous; very small crowded _ teeth (en velours ras). Pomat. telescope, Risso; Cuv. and Val. II, xxiv. The only species known; it inhabits the Mediterranean, and is excessively rare. A second subdivision comprises the Percoides with two dor- sal fins, and long and pointed teeth mingled with the small and crowded ones. AmBassis, Commers. Nearly the same form as that of the Apogons; a double notch to- wards the lower part of the preoperculum; the operculum termi- nating ina point. They are distinguished from the Apogons by the contiguity of their two dorsals, and by a spine before the first. Strictly speaking, they do not perhaps belong to this family, for there are no appendages to the pylorus. . (1) This is the Apogon rouge, Lacep.; the Corvulus, Gesner, p. 127, 3; the Amia of Gronoyius, Zooph., IX, 2; the Centropomus rubens, Spinol., An. Mus. X, XXVIII, 2, the Dipterodon ruber, Rafin. Caratt. No.715, &c. The Dipterodon hexacanthe, Lacép. Il, pl. iv, f. 2, and the Ostorinque flewrieu, 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. (2) Cheilod. 8-vittatus, Cuv., Lacep.-Il, xxxv, 1; which is his Chetlod. rayé, Ii, p. 543, and his Centropome macrodon, IV, 273.—Cheilod. arabicus (Perca lineata, Forsk), Cuv. and Val., I, pl. xxiii—Ch. 5-lineatus, Ib. p. 167. 102 PISCES. They are small Fresh-water fishes of the East Indies, which swarm in the pools and rivulets; several of them are transpa- rent. (1) ' One of them is common in a pond in the island of Bourbon, where they are prepared as anchovies, Ambassis Commersonii, Cuyv. and Val., IT, xxv.(2) ‘ To this division belongs the Lucio-Perca, Cuv. . Called by the French Brochets-Perches, or Perch-Pike, because, in addition to the characters of a Perch, they are possessed of teeth somewhat resembling those of the Pike. The edge of their preoper- culum has but one simple emargination; their dorsals are separate; some of the maxillary and palatine teeth are long and pointed. Luc. sandra, Cuy.; Perca lucio-perca, L.; Sandre d’ Europe; Bl. pl. li; Cuv. and Val. Il, pl. xv. Longer than the Perch; green- ish, with vertical brown bands; from three to four feet in lengths an excellent fish, found in the lakes and rivers of Germany, and of Eastern Europe.(3) A second division comprises the Percoides with seven branchial rays and one dorsal. They are subdivided in nearly the same way as the preceding ones, as by their teeth which are either hooked or all small and crowded; notches and spines on the opercula, &e. In the subdivision, furnished with hooked teeth, we find, SerRANuS, Cuv. Preoperculum dentate; the bony operculum terminating in one or seyeral 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. Se- veral beautiful species inhabit the Mediterranean, such as, (1) Several of them are comprised by M. Ham. Buchanan among his Chandz. (2) It is the Centropome ambasse, Lac€ép., IV, 273, and his Lutjan gymnocephale, TV, 216 and II, pl. xxiii, f. 3. For the other species see Cuy. and Val., II, 181, et seq. (S) Add the Berschik, or Sandre bdtard (Perca volgensis, Gm.);—the Lwucio- perca americana, Cuy. and Val., II, pl. xvi, p. 122. Se a ae * ACANTHOPTERYGII. 103 p > Per ca scriba, L.3 Cuv. and Val. Il, xxviii, so named from hav- me some irregular blue lines on the head.(1) Perca cabrilla, L.3 Cuyv::and Val. I, xxix. Three’ oblique » bands on the cheek.(2) It is also found in the ocean. This spe- cies, and perhaps the preceding one, were known to the Greeks by the name of yam, and were thought to consist exclusively of females. Cavolini assures us, that in every specimen he exa- mined, he found ovaries, at the lower end of which was a whitish part which might be considered as the milt. He be- lieves them to be hermaphroditical. The Antatas, BI., partim, Are Serrani, in which both jaws and the end of the muzzle are armed with very apparent scales.(3) The most remarkable spe- cies is, Anth. sacer, B1.(4) pl. cccxvs Barbier de la Méditerranée; Cuv. and Val. II, xxxi. A most beautiful fish, of a fine ruby red, changing to gold and silver, with yellow bands on the cheek. The third dorsal ray is more than double the height of the others; the ventrals are very long, and the lobes of the caudal terminate in filaments, the lower of which is the longest.(5) MeERRA. Serrani, whose maxillary is destitute of scales, but whose lower jaw is covered with small ones. There is one of them found in the Mediterranean; the (1) It is also the Perca marina, Brunnich, the Holocentrus marinus, Laroche; the Hol. argus of Spinola, and the Hol. maroccanus of Bloch. The Hol. fasciatus, LI. 240, appears to us nothing more than the same species somewhat changed. (2) It is also the Hol. virescens, Bl.; the Serranus flavus and cabrilla of Rip.; the Labrus chanus of Gmel. or Haloosnire chani, Lacép.; the Bodian hiatule, Id. &c. Add the Sacchetto, Labrus hepatus, L.; and Lab. adriaticus, Gm., or Holocentrus siagonotus, Laroche, &c.;—Serranus vitta, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. de Freycin., Zool., LVI, 2;—Hol. 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. (3) Most of our Merrz are placed by Bloch among his Anthias, but we restrict this genus to the species answering to our definition of the same. So little re- gard has Bloch had to exactness, that his Anthias sacer does not even possess the character attributed to the genus Anthias, of a spineless operculum. (4) This term Sacer was applied by the ancients to their Anthias, a large Fish very different from the one here described. See Cuv. et Val., Il, p. 255 et seq. (5) Add Serranus oculatus, Cuv. et Val., 11, xxxii, and the other species de- scribed, Ib. p. 262—270. 104 PISCES. a Perca gigas, Gm. Three feet and more in length; of a lpi ed brown: it is also taken in the Ocean. The Merre, foreign to Europe, are extremely numerous; the den- tation of the preoperculum, in several, becomes almost insensible; (1) but, generally, they can only be distinguished by their colours. There are many in which the body is dotted with colours more or less vivid,(2) and others, in which it is marked with crowded spots.(3) Some in which it is longitudinally striped,(4) or transversely,(5) or marbled in large patches,(6) or divided into two colours,(7) or, finally, of a more or less uniform tint.(8) Very few of them possess characters drawn from very apparent varieties of form. We will cite, however, the (1) These, when the muzzle is naked, constitute the Bonranus, Bloch; they only differ from most of the Hozocenrri of the same author, in this diminished dentation. The Horocenrri, when the muzzle is scaly, are called ErrnerHent, and where this is the case with the Bop1an1, they are called Creruatornores. The Lursant and Anrut® of Bloch differ from the Honocenrny, 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. (2) They are the Jacob Lvertsen of the Dutch, such as: Bodianus guttatus, Bl., 224;—Cephalopholis argus, Bl., Schn., pl. 61;—Bodianus benak, Bl. 226;—Holoc. auratus, Ib. 236;—Hol. cxruleo-punctatus, Id. 242, 2;—Labrus punctulatus, La- cep., IIL, xvii, 2, &e.; and in America, Perca guttata, Bl. 312, or Spare sanguino- lent, Lacép. IV, iv, 1;—P. maculata, Bl. 313,.or Spare atlantique, Lac., IV, v, 1;— Johnius guttatus, Bl. Schn., or Bonaci-arara, Parra, XVI, 2;—Lutjanus lunulatus, Bl. Schn., or Cabrilla, Parra, XXXVI, 1;—Bodianus guativere, Parra, V;—Holoc. punctatus, Bl. 241, or Pyra pixanga, Marcg. 152;—Gymnocephalus ruber, Bl. Schn., 67, or Carauna, Marcg., 147;—Bodianus apua, Bl. 229. (3) Epinephelus merra, Bl. 329;—Holoc. pantherin, Lacép., I, xxvii, 3;—Ser- ranus bontoo, Cuv., Russel, 128;—Serr. suillus, Russ., 127;—Labrus leopardus, Lacép., IL, xxx, 1;—Holoc. salmonotdes, 1b., XXXIV, 3;—Bodianus melanenus, Geofir., Egypt., XXI, 1. (4) Scizxna formosa, Shaw, Russel, 129. (5) Holoc. tigrinus, Bl., 237; Seb. Ill, xxvii;—ZHol. lanceolatus, Bl., 242, 1;— Anthias orientalis, 1d., 326;—Anth. striatus, 1d. 324, which is also the Anth. cherna, BL, Schn., Parra, XXIV; and the Spare chrysomelane, Lacép. (6) Serranus geographicus, Kuhl, Cuv. et Val., UL, p. 522. (7) Serranus flavo-ceruleus, Cuv., which is the Holoc. gymnose, Lacép., II, xxvil, 2; his Bodian grosse téte, 111, xx, 2, and his Holocentre jaune et bleu, IV, p. a It is also the Serran bourignon, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., Zool., pl. vil, 2 . : (8) Holocentrus ongus, Bl., 234;—Epinephelus marginalis, Bl. 328, or Holoc. rosmare, Lacép., 1V, vii, 2;—Hol. oceanique, Lacep., IV, vii, 3;—Epinephelus ruber: > BL, S31. For various other species, of which there are no figures, see de- scriptions in the second volume of our History of Fishes. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 105 Ser. altivelis, Cuv.; Cuv. et Val., I], 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. phaéton, Ib. pl. xxxiv, whose two middle caudal rays unite in a filament as long as the body. We have separated from the Serrani, the PLecrropoma, Cuv. Only differing from them in the more or less numerous teeth of the lower edge of the preoperculum, which incline obliquely forwards,(1) and the Diacore, Cuv. Characterized by an emargination near the lower edge of the preo- perculum, which receives a tuber of the interoperculum. The Indian Ocean produces some large and splendid species.(2) Mesoprrion, Cuv. The dental characters and fins of the Serrani with their dentated preoperculum; the operculum terminating in an obtuse angle, not spinous.(3) Numerous and beautiful species inhabit the two oceans.(4) Seve- ral of them are very large, and their flesh is excellent. (1) Pl. melanoleucum, Cuv.; or Bodian melanoleuque, Lacép.; or Labre lisse, 1d., If, xxiii, 2; or Bodian cyclostome, Ib., XX, 1;—Holoc. leopard, Lacép., IV, p- 3375 Cuy. et Val. I, xxxvi;—Bodianus maculatus, W1., 228, or Plectropome ponctué, Freycin., Zool., XLV, 1;—Holocentrus unicolor, Bl., Schn., Seb., UI, Ixxvi, 10;— Plect. puella, Cuv. et Val. I, xxxvii, and the other species described in the se- cond Vol. of our History of Fishes. (2) Diac. Sebe, Cuv., Seb., WU, xxvii, 2, and Russel, 99;—D. rivulata, Cuv. et Val., I, xxxviiis;—D. macolor, Cuv., Renard, 1, ix, 60;—D. octolineata, Cuv., or Holoc. bengalensis, Bl., 246, the same as the Labrus 8-lineatus, Lacép. Il, xxii, 1, and as the Scizna kasmira, Forsk; Hol. 5. lineatus, Bl., 289, is a variety of it;— D. notata, Cuv. Russel, 98; D. quadriguttata, Cuy., or Spare leipsure, Lacép. Il, xv, 2;—D. calveti, Quoy et Gaym. Voy. Freycin. Zool., LVIl, 1, and several other species described in the second vol. of our History of Fishes. (3) Most of them were comprised in the genus Lutjanus of Bloch, but were there mingled with species of other families, either Scienoides or Labroides, of which we have made other genera. (4) Mesopr. unimaculatus, Russel, 97;—Anthias Johnii, Bl., 318;—Coius catus, Buchan., 38, f. 30;—M. 5-lineatus, Russel, 110;—M-. monostygma, Cuv., Lacép., If, xvii, 1;—M. uninotatus, Nob., Cuv. et Val., Il, xxxix, Duham. part IF, sect. IV,. pl. iii, f. 2, and probably Sparus synagris, L., Catesb. I, xvii, 1;—M. bucca- Voz. II.—O y 106 PISCES. We now pass to Percoides with seven branchial rays, and a single dorsal, the teeth small and crowded. Acrrina, Cuv. Cavities or depressions on the bones of the head; preoperculum and operculum with small spines, but not dentated. Two fresh-water species are found in Europe. A. cernua; Perca cernua, L.; Perche goujonniére; Bl. 53, 23 Cuy. et Val. IIE, pl. xli. 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. schraitzer; Perca schraitzer, L.; the Schretz; Bl. 332. Larger, and has interrupted blackish lines on the sides: it pg bits the Danube.(1) ' Ryrricus, Cuy. Small spines on the opercula; the scales, like those of the Gram- mistes, small and concealed in a thick epidermis; particularly dis- tinguished from the Grammistes by the single dorsal. _ R. saponaceus; Anthias saponaceus, B\., Schn. ; 3 Parra, EXIV, 2 An American species which has received this name on account of its soft skin, that is smeared with a frothy viscosity.(2) Potyprion, Cuv. This genus, in addition to dentations in the preoperculum and spines, or the operculum, is marked by a bifurcated and very rough crest on the latter; the bones of the head are generally covered with asperities. nella, Cuy., the figure of which was taken by Bloch from Plumiér, and, with some alteration given as the Sparus erythrinus, pl. 274;—Bod. aia, Bl., 227, or Acara aia, Margr., 167;—Mes. chrysurus, Cuy. et Val., 1J, x], which is also the Sparus chrysurus, Bl., 262, or Acara pitamba of Marcgr., 155; the Anthias rabirrubia, Bl. , Schn., Parra, XXII, 1; the Spare demi-lune, Lacep. 1V, iii, 1; and the Colas of Guadeloupe, Duham. Sect. IV, pl. xii, 1;—M. cynodon, Cuv. or Anthias caballe- rote, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXV, 1;—.dnth. jocu, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXV, 2;—Sp. tetracanthus, Bl., 279, which is also the Vivanet gris, Lacép., IV, iv, 3; and the Lutjanus acutirostris, Desmar.;—M. sillae, Russel, 100;—M: lunulatus, Cuv., Mungo Park, Lin. Trans., III, xxxv, 6;—Lutj. erythropterus, ¥31. 249;—Lutj. lut- Janus, Id., 245; ;—Sparus malabaricus, Wl., Schn. ;3—-M. rangus, Cuv., Russel, 94;—M. er Id., 95;—Alphestes gembra, Bl. Schn., pl. 51, 2, and the other species described in our second volume. (1) Add Perca acerina, Guldenst., Nov. Comment. Petrop., XIX, 455. (2) Add Rypticus arenatus, Cuy. et Val., If, pl. xlvi. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 107 Polyp. cernium, Valenc.; Mem. du Mus. tom. XI, p. 2653 and Cuv. and Val., II, pl. xlii.(1) An enormous species found in the Mediterranean; it is clouded with brown on a lighter ground. , , CENTROPRISsTIS, Cuyv. All the characters of Serranus except that there are no canini, and that all the teeth are small and crowded; preoperculum dentated and operculum spinous. Centrop. nigricans, Cuv.; Coryphzena nigrescens, Bl., Schn.; Cuv. and Val., III, pl. xliv. (The Black Perch.) Blackish brown; the caudal fin trilobate when young. It becomes large, and is found in the United States.(2) Gristes, Cuy. Only differs from Centropristis in the margin of the preopercu- lum, which is entire and not dentated.(3) Thé genus Perca, as defined by Artedi and Linnzus, ter- minates here ; but there remains a number of fishes which ap- proach it, although peculiar characters compel us to arrange them in separate genera. We will begin with those Percoides which have less than seven branchial rays. We may also subdivide them according to the number of their dorsals, and the nature of their teeth. Of those with a single dorsal, some have hooked teeth among the others: they are the CrrrHires, Commers. _Preoperculum, as in Mesoprion, dentated, and the operculum termi- nating in an obtuse angle; distinguished by the inferior rays of the pectoral, which are stouter and not branched, that extend a little be- (1) The Amphiprion australis, Bl., Schn., pl. 47, or americanus, Ib., p. 205; and the Amph. oxygeneios, \b-, or Perca prognathus, Forst. do not appear to us distin, guishable from the cerniwm. ‘ (2) It is also the Lutjan trilobé, Lacép. Ml, xvi, 3, and the Perca varia, Mitchill, Trans. New York, I.—Add Perca trifurca, L.;—La Scorpéne de Waigiou, Quoy et Gaym. Freycin., Zool., LVIII, 1; and the other species described in the third Vol. of our History of Fishes. ' (3) The Labre salmoide, Lacep. IV, v, 2, or Cychla variabilis, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil., Cuv., et Val., IU, pl. xlv;—Gr. macquariensis, Ib., p. 58. 108 ; PISCES. yond the membrane; but six rays to the branchie. They all inhabit the Indian Ocean.(1) ° . Others with less than seven branchial rays are furnished. with small and crowded teeth only, or, at least, have no hooked ones. i‘*% Curronemus, Cuv. ~ The inferior part of the pectorals with the same simple rays as the Cirrhites.(2) o Pomortis, Cuv. Fishes, with a compressed and oval body, characterized by a mem- branous prolongation at the angle of the operculum. They inhabit the rivers, &c. of America.(3) CENTRARCHUS, Cuv. Characters of the Pomotis, and numerous spines in the anal fin; a group of small and crowded teeth on the tongue.(4) From America. . PriacantTuus, Cuv. The body oblong, compressed, and, as well as the entire head, and even both jaws, covered with small rough scales; preoperculum dentated and its angle spiniform and dentated. The seas of hot cli- mates.(5) Dutss, Cuv. The operculum, as in Centropristis, terminating in spines; preo- — perculum dentated and small; crowded teeth; but six rays to the branchial membrane.(6) (1) The Cirrhite tacheté, Lacép., V, 3, which is also his Labre marbré, IH, v, 3)’ and p. 492;—the Cirrhite pantherin, or Spare pantherin, lb., IV, vi, 1, and p. 160," and Seb., Ill, xxvii, 12;—Cuzrrhites vittatus, Cuv., Renard, I, xviii, 108 ;—Cirrh. aprinus, Cuy. et Val., HI, xlvii, &c. (2) One species only is known, Chiron. georgianus, Cuv. et Val., Il, p. 78; from New Holland. (3) Pomotis vulgaris, Cuv., or Labrus auritus, L., called Pond-Perch in the United States. Catesb., II, viii, 2, Cuv. et Val., II, pl. 49. i (4) Centrarchus zneus, Cuv., or Cychla xnea, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. ay sparoides, or Labre sparoide, Lacep., Ii, sins donee ris, Lac. > IV, v,3, which is also his Labre macroptére, Ti, xxiv, 1- (5) Anthias macrophtalmus, Bl. 319, or, Ontabitd Parra, XI; 1 3—nthias boops, Bl. Schn. 308;—Sciena hamruhr, Forsk. ;—Labrus eruentatus, Lacép. I, ii, 2, and the other species described in our third volume. | (6) Dules auriga, Cuv. et Val., II, lis—D. teniurus, Ib., LIM, and the other species described vol. III. «9 yi ACANTHOPTERYGII. — i 109 D. rupestris, Cuv., a species resembling a carp, and highly flavoured, is found in the fresh waters of the isles of Bourbon and of Mauritius, where it is much esteemed.(1) THERAPON, Cuv. Preoperculum, dentated; operculum terminating in a stout spine; a strongly emarginate dorsal between the spinous and soft part: teeth of the external row pointed and stronger than the rest. In some, the teeth of the vomer fall out at an early period. They inhabit the waters of India, and are remarkable for a natatory bladder, divided into two chambers by a stricture.(2) It is hardly possible to separate the Darnra from them, digiough they want the palatine teeth; their profile is more rectilinear; their dorsal less emarginate.(3) PELATES, Internal and opercular characters, the same as in Therapon; but the teeth are uniformly small and crowded, and the dorsal but slightly emarginate.(4) Hevotes, Cuv. Also very similar; the dorsal deeply emarginate; they are particu- larly distinguished by the anterior range of teeth, which are tribo- late.(5) Most of these fishes are marked with longitudinal blackish lines on a silvery ground. The Percoides, with less than six branchial rays and two dorsals, constitute but two genera. TricHopon, Steller. Preoperculum with strong spines, operculum terminating in a flat point; no scales; mouth cleft almost vertically. But one species is known, Tr. Stelleri, Cust Trachinus trichodon; Pall. Petersb. Mem. (1) This is the Centropome de roche, Lacép., IV, 273. (2) Holocentrus servus, Bl., 238, 1, or Sciena jerbua, Forsk.;—Hol. 4-lineatus, Bl. 238, 2;—Ther. puta, Cuy. Russel, pl. 126;—T'her. theraps, Cuv., Cuv. and Val., Il, liv, and the others described Vol. TI. (3) Datnia Buchanani, or Coius datnia, Buchanan, pl. ix, f. 29, and Cuv. and Val., TI, lv;—Dat. cancellata,1b., p. 144. (4) Pelates quinque-lineatus, Cuv., et Val., II, 56. (5) Helotes 6-lineatus; Cuvy., ct Val., Ill, lvii, or Hsclave six lines, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. de Freycin., Zool., LXX, 1. 110 . PISCES. IV, xv, 8, and Cuy. and Val. III, Ivii. From the north of the Pacific.(1) SILLAGO, Cuv. a Head somewhat elongated and pointed; mouth small; small crowded teeth in the jaws, and before the vomer; operculum terminating 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 lightness of their flesh. The most remarkable species is Sill. domina, Cuy. Brownish, and distinguished by the first ray of its dorsal, which is drawn out into a filament as long as the body. Its head is scaly, and the eye very small. There is another, Sill. malabarica; Sciwna malabarica, Bl. Schn.; Soring, Rus- sel, 113, not above a foot long, and fawn-coloured, which is considered one of the best fishes of India.(2) We now pass to those Percoides which have more than seven rays to the branchiz. Three genera are known, all of which present the following peculiarity: their ventrals have a spine and seven or more soft rays, while in other Acanthop- terygii there are never more than five soft rays. Ho.ocentrum, Artedi.(3) The scales of these beautiful fishes are brilliant and dentated; oper- culum dentated and spinous; preoperculum dentated with a stout spine at the angle, which is directed backwards. They are found in the hot parts of both oceans.(4) (1) This Fish having neither jugular ventrals, nor an elongated posterior dor- sal, nor a strong spine on the operculum, nor seven rays in the branchiz, cannot be a Trachinus, as was thought by Pallas and Tilesius. (2) Add Atherima sihama, Forsk., or Platicephalus sthamus, Bl. Schn. Ruppel, Poiss., pl. iii, f. 1; Sillago maculata, Quoy et Gaym. Freycin. pl. iii, f. 3. (3) We restrict this genus to species answering to the definition of it given by Artedi, Séb. II, ad tab. 1, xxvii, and like him, we give a neuter termination to this name to prevent it being confounded with the Holocentrus of Bloch and of Lacépéde, which contains various other species, Serrani particularly. (4) Holocentrum longipinne, Cuv., which is the Hol. sogho, Bl., 232; and his Bodianus pentacanthus, or the Jaguaraca of Marcgr., 147; it is also the Sciena rubra, Bl., Schn., Catesb., II, ii, 2; and the Amphiprion matejuelo, Bl., Schn., Parra, XIII, 2;—Hol. orientale, Cuv., Seb., Ill, xxvii, 1;—Aol. rubrum, Bennet, ACANTHOPTERYGII. Tfi Mynripristis, Cuv. The brilliancy, shape and scales of the Holocentra, but the pre- operculum has a dentated double border, and there is no spine at the angle. This genus is remarkable for a natatory bladder divided into two chambers, the anterior part of which is bilobate and attach- ed to the cranium in two places, where the latter is only closed by membrane, and which correspond to the sacs of the cars. They inhabit the hot parts of both oceans.(1) Beryx, Cuv. Differs from Myripristis in having but a single short dorsal, with but a few small spines, almost hidden in its anterior edge; ten soft rays in the ventrals.(2) It is impossible to remove from it the TRACHICHTHYS, Shaw, In which, with the same roughness that exists in the three preceding genera, and the same little dorsal that is seen in Beryx, we find a flat spine at the lower part of the preoperculum, and one on the shoulder; the abdomen and sides of the tail are covered with large carinated scales.(3) All the Percoides of which we have hitherto spoken, have their ventrals inserted under the pectorals; there are some genera, however, in which they are differently located. In the Percompes JuguLares, they are placed on the throat further forwards than the pectorals. Tracuinus, Lin. A compressed head, approximated eyes, and an oblique mouth; the Fishes of Ceylon, pl. iv;—Hol. leo, Cuv.»Ren., I, xxvii, 148, a very bad figure;— Scizna spinifera, Forsk;—Hol. hastatum, Cuv. et Val., Ul, lix;—Hol. diadema, Lacép., lI, ix, 3, or Perca pulchella, Bennet, Zool. Journ. IU, ix, 3;—H. sammara, or Scizna sammara, Forsk, or Labre anguleux, Lacép., I, xxii, 1, and the other species described in our third volume. (1) Myripristis jacobus, Cuv., Desmar., Dict. Class. d’Hist. Nat.;—JM. japon- icus, Cuv. et Val., ILI, lviii;—M. botche, Cuv., Russel, 105;—M. parvidens, Cuv., Id., 109;—the Lutjan hewagone, Lacep. IV, 213; his Holocentre Thunberg, tb. 367; his Centropome rouge, Ib., 273; the Sciwna murdjan, Forsk, also belong to this genus. See Vol. III of our Icthyology. (2) Berya decadactylus, Cuy. et Val. Il, 222;—B. lineatus, Ib. 226, and pl. Ixx. (3) Trachichthys australis, Shaw, Nat. Misc., No. 578: and Gen. Zool., IV, part II, p. 260. 112 PISCES. first dorsal very short, the second very long; pectorals large, and a stout spine onthe operculum. They generally remain concealed in the sand; wounds inflicted by the spines of their first dorsal are much dreaded, but their flesh is esteemed. Several species are found in the Atlantic, &c. Trach. draco, L.3 Salv., 723 Trach. lomanee Bl. Schn., pl. x; and Penn., Brit. pate IJ, xxix. (The Dragon Weaver.) Grey and reddish, with blackish spots; blue streaks and yellow tints; thirty rays to the second dorsal; flanks obliquely striated. Trach. vipera, Cuy.; Boideroc; Penn. 28; Bl, 61. (The Otter-Pike.) Smaller than the draco and paler, with smooth flanks and twenty-four rays in the second dorsal. It is more dreaded than the preceding species, in consequence of its dimin- ished size, which renders the fishermen more liable to be stung by it. Trach. araneus, Riss.; Salvian, 71; copied Willugb., pl. S. 10, f. 2. Higher; twenty-eight rays to the second dorsal; six or eight black spots along the flank. From the Mediterranean. Trach. radiatus, Cuy.; Cuv. and Val., III, Ixxii. Twenty-five rays in the second dorsal; head shagreened and rough; flanks alternately marked with large black rings, and full spots. The Trachini of remote seas are unknown to us. Percis, Bl. Schn. These fishes, in some respects, are the representatives of the Tra- chini in the seas of hot climates.. They principally differ from them in the depression of their head, and by having hooked teeth in the anterior part of the jaws and vomers; but there are none in the palate. Their first small dorsal is somewhat more closely united to the long one which follows it.(1) PineuirEs, Cuv. More heavily built than the Percis; strong conical teeth; fleshy lips and teeth in the palate; thick ventrals. Ping. brasilianus, Cuv. et Val., III, Ixxiv. From Brazil, the only species known. In . (1) Percis maculata, Bl., Schn., pl. 38;—P. semi-fasciata, Cuy., et Val., TI, Ixxiii;—P. cylindrica, or Sciena cylindrica, B1., 299, 1, which is also the Bodianus Sebx, Bl., Schn., Seb. III, xxvii, 16;—P. cancellata, Cuv., or Labre tétracanthe, Lacép., III, p. 473; and Il, pl. xiii, f. 3, which is also his Bodian tétracanthe, 1V, 302;—P. ocellata, Renard, I, vi, 42;—P. colias, Cuv. or Enchelyopus colias, B., Schn., p. 54, and the other species described in our third volume. ACANTHOFTERYGII. 113 Percoruts, Cuv. The body, on the contrary, is much elongated; some of the teeth are very long and pointed, and the end of the lower jaw projects. Percoph. brasilianus, Cuv.; Perc. Fabre, Quoy and Gaym., Voy. Freycin., Zool., liii, 1, 2. The only species known: also from Brazil. One of the most remarkable genera of the Jugulares is that of Uranoscopus, Lin. So called because the eyes are placed on the superior surface of the nearly cubical head, and look upwards: the mouth is cleft verti- cally; the lower part of the preoperculum is crenate, and there is a stout spine to each shoulder; but six rays in the branchiz. In the mouth and before the tongue is a long and narrow slip, which can be protruded at the will of the fish, and serves, it is said, to attract small ones, while it remains concealed in the mud. A remarkable peculiarity of their anatomy is the enormous size of the gall-bladder, a fact well known to the ancients.(1) In some, the first dorsal, small and spinous, is separated from the second which is soft and long. Uranos. scaber, L.3 Bl. 173. Grey-brown, with irregular ran- ges 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 Brazil.(2) Others have but one dorsal in which the spinous and soft parts are united. They are all foreign to our seas.(3) In a third division of the Percoides, the ventrals are in- serted further back than the pectorals: they are the PERcot- DES ABDOMINALES. The first genus is Potynemus, L. So named because several of the inferior pectoral rays are free, and form so many filaments;(4) the ventrals are not very far back, and (1) Arist. Hist., An., lib. II, xv. (2) Add Uranosc. affinis, Ur. marmoratus, Ur. guttatus, Ur. filibarbis, Ur. Y grecwm; new species described in our third Vol. (3) Uranose. lebeck, Bl., Schn., p. 47; Ur. monopterygius, tb. 49;—Ur. levis, Ib., pl. vili;—Ur. inermis, Cuv., et Val., II, lxxi, and Ur. cirrhosus, two new species. (4) From y#ue (a thread). Voi. Il.—P 114 PISCES. the pelvis is still suspended to the bones of the shoulder. They are allied to the Percoides by the teeth, either small and crowded, 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 preoper- culum is dentated and the mouth deeply cleft: they are found in all the seas of hot climates. Pol. paradiseus and Pol. quinquarius, L.; Seb. III, 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 wanting in this species, although it exists in all the others: it is the most delicious fish found in Bengal. The filaments of the remaining Polynemi are shorter than the body, and their number is one of their specific characters. Some of them are large, and all are considered excellent food.(1) 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 Spuyrana, Bl. Schn.(2) 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 branchiz, and numerous pyloric appen- dages. One species is found in the Mediterranean, Sph. vulgaris; Esox sphyrena, L.; Sphyene spet, Lacep.3(3) Bl. 389, which attains a length of more than three feet; back bronzed; belly silvery; brown spots when young. Sph..picula, Bl. Schu.; Parr., xxxy, 5, 23 Laci, V; ix, 3. A (1) Polyn. plebeius, or Emoi, Brouss., Bl., 400;—Pol. uronemus, Cuv., Russel, 184;—Pol. tetradactylus, Shaw, Russel, 183;—Pol. sextarius, Bl., Schn., pl. iv;— Pol. enneadactylus, Vahl.;—Pol. decadactylus, Bl. 401;--Polynemus americanus, Cuy., which is the species improperly named by BI., pl. 402, paradiseus, and of which M. de Lacépéde has also improperly made a particular genus, his Polydac- tyle plumier, V, xiv, 3. (2) Sovpasve, dart. (3) Spet, from Espeto, the Spanish name of the Pike. . ACANTHOPTERYGII. 115 closely allied American species. The same country produces another, Sph. barracuda, Cuv.; Catesb., II, pl. 1, f. 1. Which be- comes much larger, and is nearly as much dreaded as the shark. Parauepis, Cuv. Small fishes resembling the Sphyrznz, but whose second dorsal is so small-and frail that it has been considered as adipose.(1) Muuuus, Lin. This genus is rather closely allied to the Percoides 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 constitute a separate family. Their dorsals are far apart; the entire body and opercula are covered with large scales which are easily dislodged; the mouth is slightly cleft and but weakly armed with teeth, and above all they are distinguished by two long cirri, which depend from the symphysis of the lower jaw. They are divided into two subgenera. Muttus, properly so called. But three rays to the branchiz, operculum spineless, and no teeth in the upper jaw; two broad plates of small teeth en pavé, on the vomer;(2) no natatory bladder. All the species are from Europe. M. barbatus, L.; Le Rouget; Bl. 348,2. (The Red Surmul- let.) Profile nearly verticals; 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;(3) most common in the Mediterranean. M. surmuletus, L.; Bl. 57. (The Surmullet.) Larger; pro- file less vertical; longitudinally striped with yellows; most com- mon in the ocean. Upeneus, Cuv. Teeth in both jaws, but very often none in the palate; a small spine (1) Two or three small species described, by Risso, 2d ed. f. 15 and 16, inhabit the Mediterranean. (2) En pavé, teeth formed like paving stones, and placed as in a pavement. Am. Ed. (3) Senec., Quest., Nat., III, c. xviii. 116 _PISCES. on the operculum; four rays in the branchiz; a natatory bladder. They are all from hot latitudes.(1) FAMILY IL, BUCCE LORICATA, Or the Mailed-Cheeks, contains a numerous suite 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 the sub-orbital being more or less ex- tended over the cheek and articulated behind with the pre- operculum. ‘The Uranoscopus is the only one of the preced- ing family which has any thing like it, but the sub-orbital of the latter, although very broad, is connected behind with the temporal bones, and not with the preoperculum. Linneus divided them into three genera, Tricia, Cortus, and Scorr-&NA; it has been found necessary, however, to sub- divide them, and to add some of his GASTEROSTEI. j EO Trieua, Lin.(2) The above character strongly marked; an enormous sub-orbital completely covering the cheek, and even articulated by an immova- ble suture with the preoperculum, so as to allow of no separate motion; sides of the head nearly vertical, giving it a form approach- ing that of a cube, or parallelopiped, the bones hard and rough. There are two distinct dorsals, and three free rays under the pecto- ral. They have about twelve ceca, 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. (1) Mullus vittatus, Gm., Lacép., I, xiv, 1; Russel, Ul, 158;—M. Russelii, Cuv., Russel, Il, 157;—M. bifasciatus, Lacep., Il, xiv, 2;—M. trifasciatus, Id., U1, xv, 1, or M. muliibande, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin.,, pl. 59, f. 1, and several é other species described in the third Vol. of our Hist. des Poissons. (2) Teiyxx, 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. ACANTHOPTERYGII, 117 Tricia, Cuv. The Trigle, properly so called, have small crowded teeth in the the jaws and before the vomer. The pectorals are large, but not sufficiently so to raise them above the water. Numerous species are found on the coast of Europe. Tr. pint, BI., 3553 Trig. cuculus, L.? Numerous vertical and parallel lines along each side of the body, intersecting the late- ral line, and formed by folds of the skin, in each of which is a cartilaginous lamina; muzzle oblique. A good fish of a fine red colour. Tr. lineata, L.; Tr. adriatica, Gm.; BI. 35; Rond. 295; Mar- tens, Voy. to Venice, II, pl. ii. .The muzzle much more ver- tical, and the pectorals longer; the lines on the flanks encircle the body like rings. Tr. hirundo, L.3 Bl., 60.(1) Neither spines nor furrows on the ' sides; back pretenneh. 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 exceeding two feet in length. Neighbouring species are found in India.(2): Tr. lyra, L.; Bl., 350; Rond. 298. The muzzle divided into two dentated lobes; ‘a stout spine on the operculum, super-sca- pular, and particularly on the humeral; spines along the dor- sals; 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. A pointed spine on the shoulder and operculum; scales on the lateral line slightly carinate; ge- nerally grey-brown above, spotted with white, and white be- neath; some of them, however, are reddish or red. Common in the markets in France. Tr. cuculus, Bl., 59.(3) -A neighbouring spécies which is al- ways red with a black spot on the first dorsal. Tr. lucerna, Briin.; Rondel. 287.(4) Scales on the lateral line higher than they are wide; the second dorsal spine pro- longed into a filament. (1) It isthe 7'r. euculus, of Briinnich. (2) They are new; we describe them in the fourth volume of our Ichthyology. (3) Itis the Z'r. hirundo of Brunnich; but it is neither the cuculus nor the hirundo, Lin. (4) Itis not the 7'r. lucerna, Lin.; but his T'r. obsewra, described Mus. Ad. Fred. part li, and subsequently forgotten. The 7'r. Jucerna, L., is a factitious species. 118 PISCES, Tr. aspera; Viviani; Rondel., 296. Short muzzle, rough scales, velvet head; sharp crests along the dorsals; temple emar- ginate. These two last species are small, and peculiar to the Mediterranean.(1) M. de Lacépéde has separated three genera from Trigla: Prionotus, Lacep. American fishes resembling the Zr. hirundo. Their pectorals, how- ever, are longer, and can support them in the air; their distinguish- ing character, however, consists in a band of small crowded teeth on each palatine.(2) PrERIsTEDION, Lacép. This genus has been separated from Trigla with still more proprie- ty. The whole body is mailed with large hexagonal scales, forming longitudinal ridges; the muzzle is divided into two points, under which are branched cirri: no teeth. P. cataphracta; Trigla cataphracta, L.; Rondel., 299. Red; a foot long; from the Mediterranean; the only. species well known.(3) The best of these divisions is DacryLoprervs, Lacep. 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 sometime. 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 (en petits pavés); the helmet is flattened, rec- tangular, and rough; the preoperculum terminates in a long and stout spine, which forms a powerful weapon; all their scales are ca- rinated. (1) Add the neighbouring species: 7'r. papilio, Cuv.;—Tr. phalena;—Tr. sphinz, described in our fourth yolume. (2) Tr. punctata, Bl. 353 and 354;—7'r. strigata, one evolans, L., or lineatus, Mitchill, New York Trans., I, pl. iv, 4;—Z'r. carolina, L., or palmipes, Mitchill, I, cit.;—T'r. tribulus, Cuy. (3) The fig. of Bloch, 349, is incorrect, and gives too many rays to the second dorsal. Several other species are found in the East Indies. 7 | : ACANTHOPTERYGII. 119 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. CEPHALACANTHUS, Lacep. Nearly the form, and particularly the head of the Dactylopteris; dif- fering from them, however, in the total absence of pop ere any fins or wings. C. spinarella; Gasterosteus spinarella, L.; Mus. Ad. Fred., pl. xxxii, f. 5. A very small species from Guiana, and the only one known.(1) Corrus, Lin. Head broad, depressed, mailed, and variously armed with spines or tubercles; two dorsals; teeth front of the vomer, but none on the pa- latines; six rays in the branchiz, and only three or four in the ven- trals. The infgrior pectoral rays, as in Trachinus, are not branched; few cecal appendages, and 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. gobio, L.; BI. 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. Such are C. scorpius, L.; Bl. 40. (The Father-Lasher.) Three spines on the preoperculum. C. bubalis, Euphrasen., New Stockh. Mem., VII, 95. Pre- operculum with four spines, the first very long. C. quadricornis, Bl., 108. (The Four-Horned Bull-head.) Dis- tinguished by four quadrate and bony tubercles. These three species are found in the European seas, the latter more parti- cularly in the Baltic. America and the north of the Pacific Ocean produce much larger ones.(2) A small species is taken in the latter, whose singularity of form entitles it to notice: it is the C. diceraus, Pall.; Synanceta cervus, Tilesius, Mém. Acad. (1) It is from Guiana, and not from India, as has always been asserted. (2) C. virginianus, Will., X, 15, or octodecim spinosus, Mitchill, New York, Trans., IV, p. 380;—C. polyacanthocephalus, Pall., Zool., Russ., &c. 120 PISCES. Petersb. III, 1811, p- 278. Internal edge of the first spine of the preoperculum, which is nearly as long as the head, furnish- ed with six or eight prickles recurved towards its base.(1) Aspipopuorus, Lacep.—Aconus, Bl. Schn.—Puazanaista, Pall. Has been very properly separated from Cottus. Their body is defended by angular plates like that of a Peristedion, and there are no teeth in the vomer. A species is found on the coast of Europe, Cott. cabarets: L. A small fish but a few inches long, whose mouth opens beneath, and the whole of whose branchiostegous 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 branchiostegous | membrane villous.(2) In others, the lower jaw projects beyond the upper one, and the branchiostegous membrane is smooth.(3) The jaws of some are equal, and the two dorsals separated.(4) Finally, there is one in India that has but a single dorsal. Lacepede has formed a genus for it which he*calls Aspmo- PHOROIDES.(5) Other groups have lately been observed, which are partly allied to Cottus and partly to Scorpzna. Hemirriprervs, Cuv. 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 emarginate, a circumstance which has led some authors to believe they had three. ; But one species is known, (from North America,) Cottus trip- terygius, Bl., Schn.(6) which is taken along with the Cod. (1) Add, C. pistilliger, Pall, Zool., Russ., Il, 143. N.B. The Cottus anostomus, Pall., Zool., Russ.; TH, 128, is the Uranoscopus. (2) Phalangistes acipenserinus, Pall. or 4g. acip., Tiles. (3) Phal. loricatus, Pall., or Agonus dodecaedrus, Tiles.;—Phal. fusiformis, Pall., or 4g. rostratus, Tiles.;—Ag. levigatus, Tiles., or Syngnathus segaliensis, Id., Mém. Nat. Mose. II, xiv. (4) Cottus japonicus, Pall., Spic. Zool., VII, v, or Ag. stegophthalmus, a: Mem. Petersb., IV, xiii,and Voy. Krusenstern, pl. 87;—4Ag. decagonus, Bl., Schn., pl. xxvii. (5) Cottus monopterygius, Bl., 178, 1 and 2. (6) It is also the Cottus acadianus, Penn. Arct. Zool., VIII, 371; the Cottus ACANTHOPTERYGII. 121 From one to two feet long, tinged with yellow and red, varied with brown. HemiLeripotus, Cuv. 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.(1) PLATYCEPHALUS, BI. This genus has been separated from Cottus for still stronger rea- sons. The ventrals are large, six-rayed, and placed behind the pec- torals; the head is much depressed, with trenchant edges, and armed with spines, but is not tuberculous; the branchiz have seven rays and they are covered with scales; a range of sharp teeth in the pala- tines, &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 instdia- tor,—Cottus insidiator, L.(2) ScorPa@na, Lin. The head, like that of a Cottus, mailed and roughened, but com- pressed on the sides; body covered with scales; several rays in the branchiz, and but a single dorsal. If we except the armature of the cheek, and the tubercles which frequently give them an odd ap- pearance, they closely approximate to certain Percoides, such as the Acerine and the Centropristes; but though the inferior rays of their hispidus, Bl., Schn., 63; the Scorpxna flava, Mitchill, Ann. New York Lyc. I, ii, 8; and perhaps the Scorpena americana, Gmel., Duhamel, Sect. V, pl. ii, f. 5; but this figure must be very incorrect. (1) Cottus hemilepidotus, Tilesius, Mem. Ac. Petersb., III, pl. xi, f. 1, 2, which is probably the Cottus trachurus, Pall. Zoog., Russ., IIL, 138. (2) It is also the Cottus spatula, Bl, 424, the Cotte madegasse, Lacép., I, ii, 12; the Callionymus indicus, L., Russel, 46, or Calliomore indien, Lacép.;—Add, Platyc. endrachtensis, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin. p. 353;—Cott. scaber, L., Bl. 189, Russel, 47;—the two species or varieties of Krusenstern, pl. 59:—the Sand- kruyper of Renard, part II, pl. 1, f. 210, and ten new species described in the fourth volume of our Icthyology ; but the Plat. undecimalis, Bl. Schn., is a Centro- pomus; his Pl. sazatilis a Cychla, and his Pl. dormitator an Eleotris. N.B. The only foundation of the genus Centranonon, Lacép., is the pretended Silurus imberbis of Houttuyn, which is a mere Platycephalus. Vou. Il.—Q 122 PISCES. pectorals, as in Cottus, are articulated, they are simple and not branched. Scorpana, Cuv. The head spinous, tuberculous, and without scales; small crowded teeth in both jaws and palatines; irregular cutaneous cirri on differ- ent parts of the body. Sc. scropha, 1.3 Bl. 182; and better, Duham., sect. V, pl. iv. Redder; larger scales and more numerous cirri. Sc. poreus, L.3 Bl., 181, and Duham., sect. V, pl. iii, x, 2. Browner; scales-smaller and more numerous. They live in troops among the rocks; wounds from their spines are consi- dered very dangerous.(1) . The Tanianores are Scorpeznz with a strongly compressed body, whose very high dorsal is united to the caudal. Sepastes, Cuv. All the characters of the Scorpzne, 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 Marulke, and in some places Carp, the Sebastes norvegicus, Cuv.; Perca marina, Penn.; Perca norvegica, Mill. Bonnat., Encycl. Meth. pl. Icthy. f. 210. | It is red, and frequently up- wards of two feet in length. The Esquimaux dry it for food, and use its dorsal spines as needles. The Mediterranean pro- duces another, very similar, but which has fewer dorsal rays, the Sebastes imperialis, Cuv.; Scorpena dactyloptera, Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, pl. xxii, f. 9. Its palate is black, and it has no natatory bladder, although the contrary is the case with the preceding species.(2) Prerors, Cuv. Characters of the Scorpena, properly so called, except that there (1) Add, Se. diabolus, Cuy., Duham. sect. V, pl. iii, f. 1;—Se. bufo, Cuv., Parr, XVIII, 1, c;—WSc. cirrhosa, or Perca cirrhosa, Thunb., New. Stockhol. Mém., XIV, 1793, pl. vii, f. 2;—Sc. papillosa, Forst., Bl.; Schn., 196;—Sc. Plumier, Lacép. I, xix, 3;—Sc. venosa, Cuv., Ross., 56, and several new species described in our 4th yol. af (2) The pretended Sc. malabarica, Bl. Schn., 190, is a Sebastes, identical with the species of the Mediterranean.—Add, Sc. capensis, Gmel.;—Holoc. albofasciatus, Lacép. IV, 372;—Perca variabilis, Pall., or Epinephelus ciliatus, Tiles., Mem. Acad. Petersb., IV, 1811, pl. xvi, f.1—6. °°.’ | ACANTHOPTERYGII. 123 are no palatine teeth, and that the dorsal and pectoral rays are ex- cessively elongated. These fishes are from India, and are not less remarkable for this singular prolongation, than for the beauty of their uaiaur- ing.(1) ' ' BLEPpsIAs. The head compressed; cheeks mailed; fleshy cirri under the lower jaws five branchial rays; ventrals very small, and one very high dor- sal divided by emarginations into three parts. The only species known are from the Aleutian islands. (2) APISTUS. The palatine teeth and entire dorsal of the the Scorpzna; but the few rays of their pectorals are all branched. Their distinguishing character consists in a stout spine on the suborbital, which, inclin- ing from the cheeks, becomes a most dangerous weapon.(3) 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.(4) Others have ordinary pectorals, without free rays.(5) In a second subdivision the body is naked; some of these also have a free ray under the pectoral,(6) and others not.(7) AGRIOPUS. No suborbital spine; the dorsal still higher than in Apistes, and reaching between the eyes; the neck elevated, muzzle narrowed, (1) Sc. volitans, Gm., Bl., 184;—Sc. antennata, Bl., 185:—Sc. Kenigii, Id. New Stokh. Mem., X, vii, and several new species described in our 4th vol. (2) Blennius villosus, Steller, or T'rachinus cirrhosus, Pall. Zoog., Russ., UI, 237, No. 172. Blepsias isa name descended to us from the ancients without any characteristic designation. (3) Amisés, perfidus. (4) Ap. aplatus, Cuv., Russel, 160, B;—Scorp. carinata, B1., Schn. (5) Cottus australis, J. White, New South, IV, 266;—.4p. tenianotus, Cuv., . Lacép. IV, iii, 2, a figure entitled Ttenianote large raie, but one which has nothing in common with the 7! large raie, of the text, IV, 303 and 304, whichis a Mala- canthus, and the same that is represented, Il], xxviii, 2, under the name of Labre large raie;—Perca cottoides, 1.., Mus. Ad. Fred., II, p. 84. (6) Ap. minus, Cuv., Russel, 159;—Sc. monodactyle, Bl., Schn. (7) The species are new, and described, as well as others of the preceding sub- divisions, in our 4th vol. 124 PISCES. mouth small and but slightly dentated, and the body without scales.(1) PELOorR. The entire dorsal and palatine teeth of the Scorpenz; no scales on the body; 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 distinguish them from all other fishes. They inhabit the Indian Ocean.(2) SyNANCEIA, Bl. Schn. The appearance of these fishes is quite as hideous as that of a Pelor; their head is rough, tuberculous, uncompressed, frequently enveloped in a lax and fungous skin; their pectoral rays are all branched; their dorsals entire, and they have no teeth, neither in the vomer nor palatines; their frightful appearance induces the fishermep of the Indian Ocean, which they inhabit, to consider them as venomous.(3) Monocentris, Bl. Schn.—Lepisacanruus, Lacep. 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 consists of an immense spine, in the angle of which a few soft and almost imperceptible rays are concealed; head bulky and mailed; front gibbous; mouth large; short crowded teeth (en velours ras) in the jaws and palatines, but none in the vomer; eight rays in the branchiz. But one species is known; the Mon. japonica, Bl. Schn. pl. xxiv; Lépisacanthe japonais, La- cep. Six inches long, of a silvery white. From the sea of Ja- pan.(4) (1) It is the Blennius torvus of Gronoy., Act. Helvet. VII, pl. iii, copied, Waib., 1, pl. 2, f. 1; or Coryphzena torva, Bl. Schn., and some new species, — (2) Pei. obscurum, Cuy., or Scorpxna didactyla, Pall. Spic. Zool. VII, xxvi, iy; Seb., Ul, xxviii, 3, or T'rigla rubicunda, Hornstedt, Stokhol. Mem., IX, iii, and - some new species to be described in our 4th yol. (3) Scorpena horrida, L., Lacep., I, xvii, 2; and not so well, Bl., 183;—the Se. brachion, Lacép. VI, xii, 1, or Synanceia verrucosa, Bl., Schn., pl. 45;—Syn. bicapillata, Lacép. U, xi, 3. (4) Gasterosteus japonicus, Houtt., Harl. Mem., XX, part Il, 299, or Sciena japonica, Thunb., New Stockh. Mem., XI, iii, copied BI., Schn., pl. xxiv. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 125 GAsTEROSTEUS, Cuv.(1) The cheek mailed, although the head is neither tuberculous nor spinous, as is the case in the preceding genera. Their peculiar cha- racter consists in the freedom of the dorsal spines, which do not form a fin, and in the pelvis being united to humerals larger than usual, and thus furnishing the abdomen with a sort of bony hauberk. Their ventrals, placed farther back than the pectorals, are nearly reduced to a single spine; there are but three rays to the branchie. Some of them abound in the fresh waters of Europe. Two species are confounded under the name of Stickleback,— Gasterosteus aculeatus, L.; which have three free dorsal spines; but the entire side of one of them, G. frachurus, Cuv. B1., pl. , 53, f. 3, is covered with scaly plates to the very end of the tail. These plates are only found in the other, G. gymnurus, Cuv. Willughb., 341, on the pectoral region. 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, &c.(2) G. pungitius, L.; Bl., 53, 4, 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 in- habits the same streams, G. levis, Cuv., in which this armature is wanting. A separate subgenus might be made of the G. spinochia, L.; Bl., 53, 1, a salt water species of an elon- gated 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. j After this family we place the Orrosoma, Cuv. A small oval fish, whose whole body, above and beneath, is studded with thick cones of a heavy substance. There are four of them on (1) N.B. This name, which signifies bony belly, is only applicable to the Gas- terostei as we have defined them, and not to several of the Scomberoides, united with them by Linnzus on account of their dorsal spines being free: these latter we refer to our Licuta. (2) Neighbouring species or three-spined Sticklebacks: G. argyropomus, Cuv. ; —G. brachycentrus, Cuv.;—G. tetracanthus, Cuv., three Italian species; —G. nove- boracensis, Cuv.;—G. niger, Cuy., or biculeatus, Mitchill, Ann. New York Lyc., I, 1, 10;—G. quadratus, Id., Ib., f. 11;—G. cataphractus, Tiles. Mem. Acad. Petersb., TUES Viti,y de 126 PISCES. the back, and ten on the belly, arranged in two series, with smaller intermediate ones. It was discovered in the Atlantic, by Péron.(1) FAMILY III. SCIENOIDES. This family is closely related to the Percoides, and even presents nearly similar combinations of external characters, particularly in the indentations 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 ge- nerally cavernous and form a muzzle’more or less gibbouss 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 cavernous bones, two dorsals, or one deeply emarginate, whose soft part is much longer than the spinous; a short anal, a dentated preo- perculum, an operculum terminating in points, and seven branchial ‘ pays. If it were not for the absence of the palatine teeth, these fishes would resemble the Perches. The entire head is scaly; their nata-. tory bladder is frequently furnished with remarkable appendages, and the stones in the sac of the ear are larger than in most fishes.(2) We divide this genus as follows: Scrana, Cuv. Spines of the anal, weak; neither canini nor cirri. Sc. umbra,; Cuv.; Peisrey of Languedoc; Fegaro of the Ge- noese; Umbrina of the Romans, &c. Six feet and more in length; numerous branched appendages on each side of the na- (1) The fig. and detailed description will be found in our fourth vol. Oreosoma, a mountainous body. (2) This determination of the genus Scizna is in accordance with the opinion of Artedi; it has been variously modified by Linnzus and his successors, but in our opinion not very successfully. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 127 tatory bladder. A good fish, but it has latterly become rare on the coast of Europe.(1) Orouitruus, Cuv. Anal spines, as in the preceding, weak, and no cirri; some of the teeth are elongated hooks or true canini; the natatory bladder has a horn on each side which is directed forwards. They are found in America and India. (2) ANCYLODON. A sort of Otolithus with a very short muzzle, excessively long canini and a pointed tail.(3) Corvina, Cuv. Neither canini nor cirri; all the teeth small and crowded. They also differ from the Sciznz and the Otolithus in the size and strength of the second anal spine. One species is very abundant in the Mediterranean. Sc. nigra, Gm.; Corb noir; Bl. 297. A silvery brown; .ven- trals and anal, black.(4) Jounius, BI. 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 (1) Artedi having confounded it with the Scizna nigra, it is only latterly that it has been again determined. See my Memoir upon this Fish in the Mém. du Mus. tome I, p. 1;—Add the Maigre du Cap, or Labre hololépidote, Lacép. WI, xxi, 2;— the Maigre brulé, which is the Perca ocellata, L., or Centropome eillé, Lacép., the Scizena imberbis of Mitchill, and the Ludjan triangle, Lacep., TI, xxiv, 8 (2) Ot. ruber, Cuv., or the Péche pierre of Pondichery; Johnius ruber, Bl., Schn., p- 17;—Ot. versicolor, Cuv., Russel, 11, cix;—Ot. regalis, Cuv., Johnius regalis, BL, Schn., or Labrus squeteague, Mitchill, Ann. New York Lyc. I, ii, 6;—Of. rhom- bordalis, or Lutjan de Cayenne, Lacép., TV, p. 245;—Ot. striatus, Cuv., or Guatu- cupa, Marcgr., Braz., 177, and several others described in our fifth vol. (3) Lonchurus ancylodon, Bl., Schn., XXV. (4) Add, Corv. miles, Cuv., or Tella katchelee, Russ. 117;—C. trispinosa, Cuv., or Bodianus stellifer, BI. 331, 1;—C. oscula, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. Nov. 1822;— Bola euja, Buchan. pl. xii, f. 27;—C. furcrea, Cuv., Lacep., 1V, p. 424; and Bola cottor, Buchan. XX VII, 24;—Bodianus argyrolewcus, Mitch. Ann. New York Lye. I, Vi,"3. 128 PISCES. article of food; their flesh is white and light.(1) They are also met with in Senegal,(2) and in America.(3) Umprina, Cuy. Distinguished from other Sciznz by a cirrus under the symphy- sis of the lower jaw. A beautiful species is taken in the Mediterranean,—Sciena cirrhosa, L.; Bl. 300, obliquely streaked with steel-colour on a gold ground. It is a large and good fish, which has ten short ceca and a large natatory bladder furnished with some lateral, rounded sinuses.(4) \ The Loncnurus, BI., merely appears to differ from the Umbrinz in a pointed caudal and two cirri on the symphysis.(5) The Poconias, Lacep. Resembles an Umbrina, but instead of a single cirrus beneath the jaw, there are several. One of them is found in America,—Pog. fascé, Lascep., II, xvi,(5) of a silver colour, when young marked with vertical brown bands, which becomes as large as the Sc. umbra, and like it, has branched appendages to the natatory bladder.(6) 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 en pavé.(7) (1) The English of Bengal call it the Whiting.—John. maculatus, Bl., or sari- Jouilla, Russ., 123;—J. cataleus, Cuv., Russ., 116, or Bola chaptis, Buchan. X, 25. It is the Lutjan diacanthe, Lacép. IV, 244;—J. anei, Bl. 357;—J. karutta, Bl.;—J. pama, Cuy., Buchan, XXXI, 26. (2) J. senegalensis, Cuv., spec. nov. (3) J. humeralis, Cuv-, or Labrus obliquus, Mitchill, which also appears to be the Perca undulata, L.;—J. Xanthurus, or Leiostome, queue jaune, Lacép. IV, x, 1;— J. saxatilis, Bl., Schn. (4) The Cheilodiptére cyanoptere, Lacép. Il, xvi, 3, is merely a rudely drawn Umbrina. Add: Omb. Russelii, Cuy., Russel., 118;—Sc. nebulosa, Mitch., II, 5, which is also the Perca alburnus, L., Catesb., XI, 2;—King fish or Whiting of the United States;—the Pogonathe doré, Lacép., V, 122, also belongs to this sub- genus. . , (5) Lonchurus barbatus, B1.360. (6) It isthe Labrus grunniens, Mitch., Il, 3; the Scena 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 Pogonathe courbine, Lacép. V, 121, isthe same. Add: Ombrina Fournieri, Desmar., Dict. Class. d’Hist. Nat.; its cirri are almost imperceptible. (7) They are figured by Ant.de Jussieu, Mém. de l’Ac. des Sc., 1723, pl. xi. & ACANTHOPTERYGII. 129 Eaves, Bi. _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 America.(1) The Scienoides, with a single dorsal, are subdivided ac- cording to the number of their branchial rays. Those which have seven form various genera parallel to se- veral genera of the Percoides; their preoperculum is always dentated. HaMuton, Cuv. A somewhat elongated profile, which has been thought to bear some resemblance to that of a hog; the lower jaw compressed and opening very wide; two pores and a little oval cavity under its sym- “physis; teeth, small and crowded. The parts of the lower jaw which enter the mouth when it is closed, are generally of a vivid red, from which circumstance their name is derived.(2) Their dorsal is slightly emarginate, and its soft part scaly; they are all from Ame- rica.(3) PrisTIPoMA, Cuv. The same preoperculum, and the same kind of pores under the sym- physis as in Hemulon, but the muzzle is more gibbous, the mouth not so deeply cleft, and the dorsal and anal are without scales. The operculum terminates in an obtuse angle concealed in its membran- (1) Eques balteatus, Cuv., or Lg. americanus, Bl, 347, 1, or Chxtodon lanceolatus, L., Edw., 210;—Zq. punctatus, Bl., Schn., Il, 2; Eg. acuminatus, Cuv., Gram- mistes acuminatus, Bl. Schn. Seb., III, xxvii, 23. (2) From asuz, blood, and dacy, gum. (3) Ham. elegans, Cuv. or Anthias formosus, Bl. , 323;—Hxm. formosum, Cuv., or Perca formosa, L., which is not the same as the preceding one, Catesb., II, vi, 1; but it is the Labre Plumiérien, Lacép., III, ii, 2; and the Guatbi coara of Maregr., p. 163, the fig. of which is transferred to the capewna, p. 185;—Hem. heterodon, or Diabase rayée, Desmar., Dict. Class. d’Hist. Nat.;—Hem. caudimac- ula, Cuy., or Uribaco, Marcgr., 177; and Diabase de Parra, Desm., loc. cit.;— Hem. capeuna, or Capewna, Marcgr., 155, and the fig., p. 163, of the Guaibi coara. It is the Grammist. trivittatus, Bl., Schn., 188;—Hem. chrysopterum, Cuv., or Perca chrysoptera, .., Catesb., I, ii, 1, and several other species described in our fifth vol. Vou. 11.—R 130 PISCES. ous edge. It is a very numerous genus, whose species are: found throughout the hot parts of both oceans.(1) > ; ® DracramMa, Cuv. The cavity of 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.(2) Those of India are the most numerous and have smaller scales, a more convex front and a very short muzzle.(3) ' 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 inter- rupted. Among the former we place the following genera: Logpotes, Cuv. A short muzzle; lower jaw prominent; body elevated; the posterior” angle of its dorsal and anal so elongated, that with the rounded cau- dal, 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.(4) CuEemLopactyxus, Lacep. Body oblong; mouth, small; numerous spiny rays in the dorsal; (1) Pr. hasta, Cuy., Lutjanus hasta, Bl., 246, 1;—Pr. nageb., Cuy.; Scizna nageb, Forsk, or Labre Commersonien, Lacép., Ul, xxiii, 1; and Lutjan microstome, Ib., XXXIV, 2;—Pr. guoraca, Cuv., Russel, 132, or Perca grunniens, Forsk., or Anthias grunniens, Bl., Schn., p. 805;—Pr. Paikulli, Cuyv., Russel, 121;—Pr. caripa, Id., 124, of which the Anth. maculatus, Bl., 326, 2, appears to be a vari- ety;—Pr. coro, Cuv., Seb., III, xxvii, 14, or Scizna coro, Bl., 307, 2;—Lutj. suri- namensis, Bl., 253;—Sparus virginicus, L., of which Perca juba, Bl. 308, 2; and: Sparas vittatus, Bl., 263, are the young;—Coius nandus, Buchan, XXX, 32. (2) We know but one of them, of which the Lutjanus luteus, Bl. 247, appears to be abad figure. (3) It is to them that the Precrorynaur, Lacép., I, xili, 2, must be referred. Add the Scizna gaterina, Forsk.;—Sc. shotaf, Id.;—Diagr. lineatum, Cuv., or Perca diagramma, L., Seb., WI, xxvii, 18, or Anthias diagramma, Bl., 320;— Diag. pxcilopterum, Cuy., Seb., Il, xxvii, 17;—D. pictum, Cuv., Seb. Il, xxvi, 32, or Perca picta, Thunb. New Stockh. Mem., XII, vi—D. pertusum, or Perea pertusa, Id., Ib., XIV, vii, 1 (4) iblncsiitrs "us surinamensis, Bl., 243, or Bodianus burs, Mitch. Il, f. 10, and new ‘species. » ACANTHOPTERYGII. 131 : ' inferior rays of the pectorals simple and continued beyond the mem- ‘brane, as inthe Cirrhites.(1) 6. ScoLopsipEs, Cuy. . +» 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 infr a-orbital running in a’contrary direction. The body is ob- + Tong, the mouth but slightly cleft, the teeth small and crowded, and the scales large. There are no pores in the jaws. From the Poe ocean.(2) Microprervs, Lacep. _.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 forming a small particular fin; operculum entire.(3) Those Scienoides which have less than seven branchial rays and an interrupted lateral line, form several genera of small, oval fishes, prettily coloured, which may be distinguished as follows by the armature of their head. ‘They are manifestly — related to the genus Chetodon, and resemble, externally, se- veral of our fishes with Jabyrinthian branchie. -Ampurerion, BI. Schn.(4) The preoperculum and the three opercular pieces dentated, the lat- ter even furrowed; a single range of obtuse teeth. (5) (1) The Cheilod. fascé, Lacep., V, i, 1, or Cynzdus, Gronov., Zoophyl., I, x, 1;—the Cheil. of Carmichael, or Chxtodon monodactylus, Id., Lin. Trans. XII, xxiv;—Cheil. carponemus, Cuy., or Cichla macroptera,, Bl., Schn., 342;—Cherl. zonatus, Cuv., or Labrus japonicus, Tiles., Voy. Krusenst, pl. Ixiii, f. 1. (2) Scol. kate, Cuv. named by Bloch Anthias japonicus, 325, f. 2;—.Anth. Vos- meri, Bl., 321, a poor figure, and the same as the Perca auwrata, Mungo Park, Lin. Trans. Ill, 35;—Anth. bilineatus, Bl. 325, 1;—Scol. kurita, Cuv. Russel., 106;— Scol. lycogenis, Cuv., or Holoc. erlié, Lacép., Iv, 371;—Sciena ghanam, Forsk, and several new species. (3) But one species is known, the Microptére Dolomiew, Lacép., IV; iii, 3. We have also some few more subgenera of this subdivision, which we shall aperle of in our 5th vol. (4) I greatly reduce the number of species of this genus, as composed by Bloch. (5) Amph. ephippium, Bl., 250, 2;—Amph. bifasciatus, Bl. 316, 2;—Amph. polymnus, Bl., 316, 1;—percula, Cuv., or Lut}. perchot, Lacep., IV, 239, Klein., Misc., IV, xi, 8;—Amph. leucurus, Cuv., Renard, VI, 49, and various new species. e 132 PISCES. Premnas, Cuv. am One or two stout spines on the infra-orbital, andthe preoperculum dentated.(1) : PomMAcENnTRUws, Lacep.(2) Preoperculum dentated, operculum unarmed; a single range of trenchant teeth.(3) Dascyuiuus, Cuv. The fishes of this genus only differ from those of the preceding one in their teeth, which are very short and crowded (en velours ras).(4) They all inhabit the Indian ocean. Giypuisopon, Lacep. ry Operculum and preoperculum entire; a single range of trenchant and generally emarginated teeth. They are found in the Atlantic,(5) but the Indian ocean pro- duces many more.(6) Some of them are distinguished frou the others by numerous spines in the anal.(7) HELIASUS. The opercular pieces of the Glyphisodon and teeth similar to those (1) Cheetodon biaculeatus, Bl., 219, 2, which is also the Holocentre Sonnérat, Lacép., IV, 391; and the Lut}. trifasciatus, Bl., Schn., 567; and Kzhlreuter, Noy. Com. Petrop., X, viii, 6; Seb., III, xxvi, 29, is a variety of it;—Pr. unicolor, Cuv., Seb. III, xxvi, 19, which is also the Scorpéne aiguillonnée, Lacép. II, 268. (2) We define them differently from Lacépéde, and greatly diminish their num- ber by divisions. (3) Chextodon pavo, Bl., 198, 1, which is the Pomacentre paon, Lacép. .» and his Holoc. diacanthe, WV, 338;—Pomacentrus, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., pl. 64, f. 2;—P. punctatus, Ib., 1;—P. emarginatus, Seb. Il, xxvi, 26, 27, 28;—the Hol. negrillon, Lacép. IV, 367. t (4) Chetodon arwanus, L., Mus. Ad. Fred. XXXH, Bl., pl. 198, f. 2. . (5) The Jacaraqua, Marcgr., or Chetod. saxatilis, L., Mus. Ad. Fred., XX VII, 3,‘which is also the Chet. marginatus, Bl., 207; and his Ch. mauwritii, 213, 1; and the Ch. sargoide, Lac.; but itis not the Ch. sawatilis, Bl., 206, 2;—Ch. curassao, BL. 212. (6) Chetod. bengalensis, Bl. 213, 2, or Labre macrogastére, Lac€ép., I, xix, 3;— Gl. melonurus, Cuv., or Labre 6-bandes, Lacép., Ill, xix, 2;—Chet. sordidus, Forsk., or Calamoia pota, Russel., 85;—Gl. sparoides, Cuv., Lac€p., IV, ii, 1;—Gl. Jachrymatus, Cuv-, Quoy et Gaym., Freycin., pl. 62, f. 7;—G/. azureus, tb., pl. 64, f. 3;—Gl. uniocellatus, \b., f. 4. (7) Chetod. suratensis, Bl. 217;—Chetod. maculatus, W)., 427. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 133 of a Dascyllus, that is, small and crowded. They are found in both oceans.(1) FAMILY IV. SPAROIDES. The Sparoides, like the Scienoides, have a palate destitute of teeth. Their general figure and several details of their or- ganization 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 5 there are neither indentations in their preoperculum, nor spines on their operculum; their pylorus is furnished with cecal appendages. ‘They never have more than six rays.in the branchie. They are divided according to the form of their teeth. | In the first tribe, that of Sparus, Cuv. the sides of the jaws are furnished with round molars en paves ; we subdivide it into five genera. Sareus, Cuv. Trenchant incisors in front of the jaws almost similar to those of Man. Several of them which differ but little from each other inha- bit the Mediterranean, and are even found in the gulf of Gasco- ny. They are marked with vertical, black bands on a silver sround.(2) Some have emarginated incisors. (3) The round molars of others are on a single line and very small. From the Mediterranean.(4) (1) The species are new; we describe them in our 5th vol. (2) The Sargue de Rondelet (Sargus raucus, Geoff.), Eg., Poiss., pl. xvii, 1, Rondelet, 122. Sp. pantazzo, Risso;—the Sargue de Salviani (Sargus vulgaris, G.), Eg., XVII, 2; Salviani, fol.179, Pisc. 64;—the Sparaillon, (Sargus annularis, Ei); Rondel., 118; Saly., 63; Laroche, Ann. Mus. XII, pl, xxiv, f. 13;—Sp. ovis, Mitch., or Sheephead of the United States. (3) Perca unimaculata, Bl., 308, 1, or Salema, Marcgr., 153;—Sparus crenidens, Forsk., probably belongs to this subdivision. (4) S. puntazzo, Gm., or Sp. acutirostris, La Roche, Ann, Mus. XIII, xxiv, 12, of which Risso makes his genus Cnarax. 134 . PISCES. Curysopuris, Cuv. 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 inhabit the European seas. Chr. auratus; Sparus aurata, L. Bl., 266,(1) and much better, Duham., Sect. IV, pl. 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 ancients, on account of a crescent-shaped band of a golden hue which extends from one eye to the other. Chr. microdon, Cuy. Colours nearly the same as in theyau- rata; smaller; the forehead more gibbous; only two rows of molars below, all of which are as broad as they are long, or broader; the large oval one is wanting.(2) Pacrus Differs from 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.(3) The Indian Ocean and the coast of the United States produce some of these fishes, whose first dorsal spines are prolonged into filaments. (4) Others taken at the Antilles are remarkable for the first interspi- nal of their anal fin, which is hollow and terminates en bec like a pen; the point of the natatory bladder runs into this: kind of fun- nel. They are called Sardes @ plumes.(5) | A more remarkable peculiarity is that of a Cape Pagrus, whose maxillaries are enlarged and as solid as stone. We call it Pagrus lithognathus. (1) The teeth belong to another species, and those of the true Chr. aurata are figured pl. 74, as appertaining to the Anarrhichas. (2) Add: Sparus bufonites, Lacép., IV, xxvi, 2, the same as his Sp. perroquet, Ib., 3; and perhaps as the Sp. haffara, Forsk., 33;—Sp. sarba, Forsk., 22;—Chr. chrysargyra, Cuv., Chitchillee, Russel, 91;—Sp. hasta, B1., Schn., 275, or Sp. berda, Forsk. 33;—Sp. calamara, Cuy., Russ. 92;—Scizena grandoculis, Forsk., 53;— Cheztodon bifasctatus, Forsk., which is also the Labre chapelet, Lacép., IU, iii, 3, his Spare mylio, Ib., XX VI, 2, and his Holocentre rabagi, IV; Suppl., 725, &c. (3) 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 “ Sys- tem.” (4) Sparus spinifer, Forsk. 3—Sp. argyrops, L., or sini Der stcblore Mitch. (3) Pagr. calamusand Pagr. penna, Cuv. if) ACANTHOPTERYGII. 135 PaGE.us, Cuv. 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 physi- ognomy. 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 com- pressed. Pag. centrodontus; Sp. centrodont., Laroche; the Rousseau at Marseilles; Besugo of the Spaniards; Ann. Mus. XIII, xxiii, 2. Silvery, glossed with rose; a large, irregular black spot on the shoulder.(1) Pag. acarne, 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 black spot. Pag. bogaraveo; Sp. bogar., Gm.; Rondel., 137. More oblong; muzzle more pointed; gilt tinged with violet; a black spot on the axilla. : Pag. mormyrus; Sp. mormyrus, L.; Rondel., 1533; Geoff., Eg. Poiss. pl. xviii, 8. Vertical black bands on a silver ground. In the second tribe there is but one genus, DeEnTEX, Cuv. _ Characterized by conical teeth even on the sides of the jaws, gene- rally in one range, some of the anterior of which are drawn out into large hooks. They would be rather closely allied to the genus Hzmulon were it not that the indentation of the preoperculum is wanting, and that they have one ray less in their branchiz. The cheek is scaly. Two species are found in the Mediterranean. D. vulgaris; Sparus dentex, L.; Dentale of the Italians; Bl., 268. Silvery, shaded with bluish, towards the back; sometimes three feet in length.(2) D. macropthalmus; Sp. macropth., 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 (1) Itis the Sparus pagrus, Bl., pl. 262. } (2) Add: D. macrocephalus, Cuv.; or Labre macrocephale, Lacép., UW, xxvi, 1;— Sparus cynodon, Bl., 278;~-Dentex hexodon, Quoy et Gaym. Voy. Freycin., 301. 136 PISCES. of Penraropa, those whose mouth is less cleft, head more scaly, body less elevated, and whose caudal is covered with scales to the end.(1) } By that of Lerurinus, we distinguish such as have no scales on the cheek; most of them, as in Hzemulon, have some red about the angle of the jaws.(2) All these fishes have a pointed scale be- tween the ventrals, and one above each of them. * A third tribe is also composed of a single genus. CanTuarus, Cuv. Teeth short and crowded, or bent and crowded (en cardes serrées), 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; Sparus canth., L.; Rond. 120, and Duham. sect. iv, pl. 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.(3) In a fourth tribe the teeth are trenchant. It comprises two genera. Booprs, Cuy. Teeth of the external row trenchant, mouth small and nowise pro- tractile. Several species are found in the Mediterranean. B. vulgaris; Sparus boops, L.; Rond. 136. 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. More oval; stripes of a . more brilliant gold, on a ground of burnished steel; teeth broad and emarginated. OpLapa, Cuv. Differs from Boops in having small crowded teeth behind the inci- sors, which somewhat approximates this genus to Cantharus. (1) Sparus vittatus, Bl. 275;—the Sp. rayé d’or, Lac€p., IV, 131, and some new species. (2) Spar. cherorhynchus, Bl., Schn., 278;—Bodian lutjan, Lacep., IV, 294;— Kurwa, Russel, 89;—Scizena mahsena, Forsk., Pp. 52, No. 62;—Scizena harak, Id. (S) The fig. of Bloch, 269 and 270, intended to represent these two species, convey no correct idea of them. ACANTHOPTERYGIL. 137 Ob. melanurus; sparus melanurus, L.3 Salv. 181. Silvery, striped with blackish; a broad black spot each side of the tail. FAMILY V. MENIDES. ~The Menides differ from the preceding families in the ex- treme extensibility and retractility 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. Mana, Cuv. Distinguished from a true Sparus by having very short, small, and crowded teeth, 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 another between them. Several species inhabit the Mediterranean. M. vulgaris; Sparus mena, L.; Bl. 270. Back, lead-colour; belly, silvery; a black spot on the flank opposite the last spine of the dorsal. M. jusculum, Cuy., only differs from the vulgaris in having a narrower body, a shorter muzzle and a higher dorsal. Wee radiata; Sparus radiatus, Osbeck.; Sp. tricuspidatus, Spi- nola; Ann. Mus. X, pl. xviii. A deep steel-blue; oblique blue streaks on the cheek; blue spots on the ventrals; the dorsal still higher. SMARIS, Cuv. The fishes of this genus only differ from the Menez in the total de- ficiency 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.3 Le Picarel commun; Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, pl. xxv, f. 17. Lead-grey above; silvery be- poh a black spot on the flank. - §. alcedo, Riss., so called from the beautiful blue with which its body is variegated. __ S. cagarella, Cuy. The body as s high as that of the Mena vul- garis, from which it only differs in having no palatine teeth. Vou, II.—S 138 PISCES. Casio, Lacep.. Only differs from Smaris in a dorsal somewhat higher in front, and surrounded at its base with fine scales. They inhabit the Indian ‘ocean, and are shaped like a spindle.(1) Gerres, Cuv.—Mocharra, in South America. The mouth protractile, but when advancing, it descends; the 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 interspinal of their anal fin is tabular as in certain Pagri. They are excellent food, and inhabit the hot parts of both oceans.(2) G. rhombeus, Cuy.; Sloane, Il,pl. 253, f. 1. A species that is said to penetrate occasionally as far as the coast of Cornwall, following pieces of wood covered with Anatife, carried there by the currents.(3) FAMILY VI. | eas SQUAMIPENNES. 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 dis- tinguish them from the mass of the body. This is the most. remarkable character of these fishes, the body of which is ge- (1) Cesio asuror, Lacep., LI, 86, or Vackum, Valent. 5 132, or Canthere douteux: Dict. Class. d’Hist. Nat. livr. 1V;—C. smaris, Cuv., or Vackwm mare, Renard, I, pl. 32, f. 174;—Bodianus argenteus, Bl., 231, or Picarel raillard, Quoy et Gaym., Zool. Freycin. pl. 44, f. 3;—Sparus cuning, Bl., 263, or Cychla cuning, Bl. Schn.,. p. 336. - N.B. M. de Lacépéde fies makes a Cesio of the wSecihahis equula of Forskal, or Centrogaster equula of Gmelin, which is our Lguula'caballa. _ (2) Labrus vyena, Forsk., Rupp. Voy. Poiss., pl. Ill, x, 2, or Spare me Lacép. IV, 134, or Labre long museaw, Id. II, xix, 1, and p. 467;—Gerres aprion, Cuy., Catesb., Il, xi, 2;—G. rhombeus, Cuy., or Stone-bass, Sloane, Jam., II, pl. 253, f. 1;—G. poieti, Cuv., Ren., pl. ii, f. 9, Valent.,; No. 354;—G. lineatus, Cuv., or Smaris lineatus, Humb., Zool. Obs. pl. xlvi, f° 2;—Gerres argyreus, Cuv., or Sciena argyrea, Forster, or Cychla argyrea, Bl., Schn..;—G. filamentosus, Cuv., or. Wordawahah, Russ., f. 68. ‘ (3) Couch, Lin. Trans., XIV, part. I, p. 81. . De ee a ~ SO i ea es ACANTHOPTERYGII. 139 nerally much compressed, the intestines long, and the cxca numerous. ‘They were comprised by Linnzus in the genus Cu2Topon, Lin. So named from their teeth, which in length and tenuity resemble hairs, collected in several close rows like 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 are very abundant in the seas of hot climates, and are adorned with the most beautiful - colours, circumstances which have caused many to be figured, and rendered them common in our cabinets. ‘Their intestines are long and ample, and their ceca long, slender and numerous; their nata- tory bladder is large and very strong. They frequent rocky shores, and are > eaten. CuzTopon, properly so called. The body more or less elliptical; the spinous and soft rays conti- nuing in a uniform curve; the snout projecting more or less, and sometimes a very small indentation in the preoperculum. They have a mutual resemblance, even in the distribution of colours, most of them, for instance, being marked with a vertical black band,, in which is placed the eye. | In some there are several, ether vertical bands parallel to the former.(1) In others they are oblique or longitudinal.(2) The flanks of some are sprinkled with brown spots.(3) Others again are merely marked with lines of reflections in va- rious directions; here it is merely the ocular band;(4) and Chere in addition, are ribands on the vertical fins. (5) One or two ocellated spots are observed in some.(6) e5) Chet. striatus, L., Bl. ra 1 Ch. octofasciatus, Gay, BL, 915; ;—H. collare, Bl., 216. (2) Chet. Meyeri, Bl., Schin, improperly called Holocanihe jaune et noir by Lacép., IV, ‘xiii, 2. (3) Chet. miliaris, wae Zool. Voy. Freycin., pl. 62, f. 5. (4) Chet: Kleinii, Bl., 218, 2;—Ch. Sebx, Cuv., Seb., Il, xxvi, 36. (5). Chet. vittatus, Bl., Schn., Seb., IIL, xxix, 18;—Ch. vagabundus, Bl., 204;— Ch. decussatus, Cuv., Russ., 83; and Klein, Mis., 1V, ix, 2;—Ch. bifascialis, Cuy., Voy. de Freycin., pl. 62, f. 5;—Ch. strigangulus, Gm.;—Ch. baronessa, Cuv., Re- nard, I, xiii, 218;—Ch. frontalis, Cuv., or, Pomacentre croissant, ip Ch. fe ciatus, Forsk., or Ch. flavus,’ ‘Bl., Schn., Nos 37. (6) Ch. nasogallicus, Cuv., Ren., I, v, 37; and Will, App., V, 4;—Ch. capis- tratus, L., Seb., WI, xxv, 16, Mus. Ad. Fred., XXXII, 4; Klein., Misc., IV, xi, 140 PISCES. Some of these Chztodons, 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.(1) Finally, some are remarkable for the very small number of the spine of their dorsals. (2) CuEtmon, Cuv. Separated from Chetodon 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 crowded, (en Sie ve- lours) rather than like hairs. One species, Chet. rostratus, L., Bl., 202, has the faculty of spurting drops of water on the insects it perceives on the shore, and thus bringing them within reach.. It is a common pastime of the Chinese at Java.(3) Hentocuus, Cuv. Differs from the true Chetodon, 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 re- sembling a kind of whip.(4) Epuirrus, Cuv. 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. gigas, Cuv., remarkable for the great enlargement of the first interspinal of its dorsal A 5;—Ch. bimaculatus, Bl., 219, 1;—Ch. plebeius, Gm.;—Ch. unimaculatus, Bl., 201, 1;—Ch. sebanus, Cuv., Seb., II, xxv, 11;—Ch. ocellatus, Bl., 211, 2. (1) Chet. setifer, Bl.,426, 1;—Ch. auriga, Forsk.;—Ch. ripen Cuv., Ren. part II, lvi, 239, Valent., No. 407. (2) These species are new, as well as many others which belong to uni subdivisions—they will be described in our Icthyology. | (3) Schlosser, Trans. Phil., 1767, p.’39.—Add: Ch. longirostris, Bieeon Dec. Icthyol. (4) Ghetodon macrolepidotus, L., Bl., 200, 1; ie Chat. acuminatus, L., Mus. Ad. Fred., XXXII, f. 2, appears to be a mere individual variety of it;—the Chet. cornutus, L., Bl., 200, 2, of which the Chet. canescens, .., Seb., Tl, xxv, ae is only a young uncoloured specimen, — ACANTHOPTERYGII. 141 and anal fins, which is clavate, and for a similar inflation of the crest of the’cranium.(1) In a second subdivision, from the Indian Ocean, there are three spines in the anal, and long and pointed pectorals.(2) A third, also from the Indian Ocean, has four anal spines, and very small scales. | ' One species, Chetodon argus, L., Bl., 204, 1, has the reputa- tion of feeding, de preference, upon human excrement.(3) Another species of this same subdivision has been discovered in a fossil state in Mount Bolca,(4) The Tauricures are Ephippit of India, which have an arcuated and pointed horn over each eye.(5) . Hoxracanruus, Lacep. 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 re- gularity with which they are distributed. Numerous species abound in both oceans.(6) Their form is oval or oblong; we may separate from them the. PomMacantruus, Cuv. In which the form is more elevated; a circumstance resulting from the more sudden rise of the edge of the dorsal.(7) The only species known are from America. / (1) Add: Chetodon faber, Brousson., Bl.,.212, 2, of which the Chet. Plumi- ert, Id., 211, 1, may bea variety;—Chat. orbis, Bl. 202, 2. (2) Chzxt. punctatus, L., ‘or Latté, Russ., 79; a ait eae BI., Schn., Russ., 80;—Eph. terla, Cuv. Russel, 81. (3) Add, Chet. tetracanthus, Lacép. U1, xxv, 2. (A) Ittiolitologia Veronese, pl. v, f. 2, where it is figured as the Argus, but it is a different species. (5) The Buffalo-fish of the Malays, Taurichthys varius, Cuv., well figured by Ren. I, xxx, 164, Valent., No. 71;—T. viridis, Ren., Il, x, 49, Valent., No. 161. (6) American species, Chet. ciliaris, L., Bl., 214, or Isabelita, Parra, VU, 1, or Chet. couronné, Desmar., Dec. Icthyol.;—Chet. tricolor, Bl., 425; Duham., Sect. IV, pl. xxiii, 5. India species, Chet. bicolor, Bl., 206, 1;—Ch. mesoleucos, Bl., or mesomelas, Gm., Bl., 216, 2;—Holac. amicalis, Cuy., Ren. I, xvi, 92;—Ch. annularis, BL, 215, 2;—Ch. imperator, Bl., 194;—Ch. sect, BL, 195;—Ch. nicobariensis, BL, Schn., 50, or Geometricus, Lacép., IV, xiii, 1;--Hol. Lamark, Lacép. TN 531, Renard, I, Xxvi, 144, 145, and seyeral new species. (7) Chet. aureus, Bl., 193, 1, or Chirivita jaune, Parra, VI, 2;—Cheet. paru, Bl., 197, or Chirivita noir, Parr., V1, 1; ;—Ch. 5-cinctus, Cuv., itt Maregr., 178;— Ch. arcuatus, L.., Bl., 204, 2. 142 PISCES. PLATAXx. _ A row of trenchant teeth, each divided into three points, in front of the others, or brush-like teeth; the body, strongly compressed, seems to be continued 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 Indian Ocean.(1) One species, Ch. arthriticus, Bell. Phil. Thins.’ 1793, pl. vi, of amore orbicular form, is remarkable for the knots or en- largements in some of its interspinals and spinous apophyses.(2) A fossil species of this subdivision has also been discovered at Mount Bolca.(3) " Psetrtus, Commers. Figure similar to that of a Platax, but the teeth are very small and crowded, and the ventrals reduced to a single small spine, without soft rays. The form of some is elevated;(4) that of athees round or ‘nee they are all from the Indian Ocean. PIMELEPTERUS, tee Distinguished from all other fishes by a single range of teeth bilced in a horizontal base or heel, on the anterior edge of which is a part vertical and trenchant. The body is oblong, the head obtuse, and the fins thickened by the scales which cover them; from which cir- cumstance their name is derived.(6) They are oval, smooth, and covered with brown scales; they inhabit both oceans.(7) » (1) Chet. vespertilio, B1., 199, 2;—Ch. tetra, Ib., 1;—Ch. guttulatus, Cuv. Ren., I, xxiv, 129. (2) It is also the Ch. pentacanthe, ieeen: .» IV, xi, 2,.and the Ch. orbicularis, Forsk., or Acanthinion orbiculaire, Lacep. IV, 500. » (8) Ittiol. Veron., pl. 4 and 6. (4) Psett. Sebxe, Cuv., Chetodon rhombeus, BL, Schn., Seb., I, xxvi, 21;—Ps. rhombeus, Cuv., or Scomber rhombeus, Forsk., or Centrogastéer rhombeus, Gm., or Centropode rhombordal, Lacép., Russ., 59. (5). Psett. Commersonii, Cuv., or Ménodactyle faleiforme, Lacép., U, v, 4, and TH, — 131, which very probably does not differ from the Chet. argenteus, L., or Acantho- pode argenté, Lacép. (6) Pimelepterus (fat fin). This genus of Lacépéde, IV, 499, formed from Bosc, is the same as that of Xisrerzs, V, 484, formed from > ae and there is every reason to believe that the Dorsuaire, Lacép., V, 482, which “is certainly identical with the Kyrnosz, II, 114, may very Sealy aia be pened same as the Xistrrus. (7) The Piméloptére bosquien, Lecép.1V, ix, 1, or Chetodon ines Brous- ACANTHOPTERYGII. 143 Diprpropon.(1) A fiesauinitins genus, in which the teeth are also trenchant, but cut sloping and not geniculate; the spinous portion of the dorsal separated from the soft part by a deep emargination. Dipt. capensis, Cuv., is the only species known. _ The following genera, which we place next to Chetodon on account of their scaly fins, differ greatly from it, however, in the teeth with which their palatines and vomer are fur- nished. . The genus Brama, Bl. Schn.(2) Is 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, bent teeth (en cardes) in the jaws and palatines, an elevated profile, very short snout, a forehead descending vertically, and a mouth, when shut, that is almost ver- tical; the scales extend on to the maxillaries; there are seven rays in the branchiz; a dorsal and low anal, but commencing in a salient point; a short stomach; a small intestine and only five cxca. But one species is known, Sparus Raii, Bl. 2733 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 infested with variaus species of intestinal worms. Pempueris, Cuv. A long and scaly anal, the dorsal short and elevated; head obtuse; the eye large; a small spine on the operculum; small crowded teeth on the jaws, vomer and palatines. From the Indian Ocean.(3) sonet;—the Pim. marciac, Quoy et Gaym., Voy., Freycin., pl. 62, f. 4;—Pim. du Cap, or Kiphose double bosse, Lacep., IH, viii, 1;—a Brazil species formerly named by Banks Chextodon ensis. (1) This genus, the name of which is borrowed. from Lacep., does not, how- | ever, contain the same species. _ (2) I strongly suspect, that it is the Brama which M. Rafinesque has in view, in his Lepodus saragus, Nuoy.,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. (3) Pempheris touea, Cuv., Sparus argenteus, J. White, App. 267, or Kurtus argenteus, Bl. Schn., 164;—P. mangula, Cuv., Russ., 114;—P. moluccas Cuv., Ren., I, xv, 85, and Valent., No. 46. 144 - . 'PIScEs. ® Toxorers, Cuv. 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 small crowded teeth very short in both jaws, the extremity of the vomer, palatines, ptery-. goids, and on the tongue; six rays in the branchie, inferior edge of the infra-orbital and preoperculum, finely serrate. Their stomach is wide and short, with twelve cecal appendages to the pylorus; natatory bladder, large and thin. The species known, 7ozotes jaculator, Cuv.; Labrus jaculator, Shaw, vol. IV, part II, p. 485, pl. 68,(1) is celebrated for the same faculty that distinguishes the Chet. rostratus. By spurt- ing drops of water on insects which frequent aquatic plants, they are beaten down and brought within its reach. It can force the water to a height of three or four feet, and rarely misses its aim. FAMILY VII. SCOMBEROIDES. Our seventh family is composed of a multitude of fishes with small scales, a smooth body, numerous cca frequently united in clusters, and whose tail and caudal fin in particular are ex- tremely powerful. This family is of the greatest utility to man, by the size and | flavour of its'species, and their inexhaustible reproduction which brings them periodically into the same latitudes, where they constitute the object of the most extensive fisheries. ScomsBer, Lin. 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 (1) Itis also the Scarus Schlossert, Gm., Lacép. and Shaw, the Scizna jacula- triz of Bonnaterre, the Labre sagittaire of Lacép., and the Coius chatareus of Buchanan. i Ve ACANTHOPTERYGII. 145 detached, forming what are termed false or spurious fins, or pinnz spuriz. 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 beneath. The value, &c. of this fish is too well known to need a comment. The Common Mackerel has no natatory blad- der; but, and it is a singular fact, that organ is found in several other species, so similar to it, that some attention is necessary 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 Lyc., I, 423, which is sometimes seen on the coast of the United States, in countless numbers, &c. (1) , Tuynnus, Cuv. A soft corslet round the thorax, 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 dorsal extends close to*the second. Sc. thynnus, L. (The Tunny.) This fish has been taken in i te Mediterranean, from a very ancient date, and by its abundance constitutes a great source of wealth to Provence, Sardinia, Si- cily, &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, that have es been but badly distinguished. Sc. brachypterus, Cuy.; the Alicorti, Rondel., 245, and Duham., Sect. VII, pl. vii, f. 5. Pectorals but one-eighth of the whole length. : Sc. thunina, Cuv.; La Tonine; Aldrov., 315; Descrip. de VEg. Poiss. pl. xxiv, f. 5. A brilliant blue marked with black lines, undulated and curved in various ways, &c. It is also in this first group that we must place the (1) Add, Scomber vernalis, Mitch., loc. cit.;—Sc. canagurta, Cuy., Russ., 136. Vou. II.—T 146 PISCES. Sc. pelamys, L., Lacep., Il, xx, 2. (The Bonita.) Four lon- gitudinal blackish bands on each side of the belly.(1) The Orcynvus, Cuy. Only differs 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, pl. vi, f. 1, under the improper name of Tunny; Willughb. App. pl. x, f. 1, is taken in the Mediterranean, with the Tunny, and in summer visits the gulf ‘of Gascogny, in numerous bodies, where it constitutes an im- portant 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, Cuy.(2) The corslet and moderate pectorals of the Tunny, and the dor- sals, separate, as in the Mackerel. One species inhabits the Medi-_ terranean. Sc. bisus; Bonicou, or Scombre Laroche, of Risso; Rafin., Ca- ratt. pl. 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 Thou, or Tunny, which attains a size equal to that of the European Tunny.(3) Sarva, Cuv.(4) Distinguished from the Tunnies solely by their separate, pointed, and strong teeth. Sc. sarda, Bl. 334; Aldrov., 3133 Salvian., 123; Belon, 179.(5) The only species known, but common in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. It is blue, the back obliquely streaked with (1) Add. Se. coretta, Cuv., Sloane, Jam., I, 1, 3;—Dangiri mangelang, Renard, i Ixxvi, 189. (2) Auwis, ancient name of a fish of this family. (S$) Add, the Tasard, Lacep. IV, p. 8;—the Albicore, Sloane, Jam., I, 1, 1? (4) Sarda was the ancient name of the Tunny that was caught and salted in the’ Western Ocean.. (5) Itis the mia of the ancients and of Rondelet, 238; ae Sarda of Rond., 248, is the young of the same species. It is also the Scomber palamitus of Rafin.; the Sc. ponticus, Pall., Zoogr. Russ. . ACANTHOPTERYGIL. 147 blackish; remarkable for the extreme length of its gall-bladder; a fact well known to Aristotle.(1) It also inhabits both oceans. Cysium, Cuv.(2) The Weds elongated, and without acorslet; large, compressed, trenchant teeth, resembling lancets; palatine teeth all small, short, and crowded. Several species are found in the hot parts of both oceans; some of them become very large.(3) TuyrsiTEs, Cuv.(4) Differs from Cybium in the anterior teeth, which are 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.(5) Grmpytus, Cuv.(6) Similar to Thyrsites in the jaw-teeth, but there are none in the palate, and the ventrals are almost imperceptible; an additional mark of affinity with Lepidopus.(7) Xipuias, Lin. These fishes belong to the family of the Scomberoides, and approach the Tunnies, particularly in their excessively small scales, in the ca- rine on the sides of their tail, in the power of their caudal fin, and in their whole internal organization. Their distinguishing charac- ter consists in the beak, or long ensiform point or tusk, which termi- (1) Arist., Hist., I, c. xv. The gall-bladder of the common Tunny is equally as long. (2) Cybium, the ancient name of a dish prepared from the Tunny and from ano- ther fish of the same family. (3) C. Commersonit, Cuv., Sc.. Commersonii, Lacep., or Konam, Russ., 135;—C. lineolatum, Cuv., Mangelang, Russ., I, vii, 53;—C. guttatum, Cuv., or Sc. guttatus, BI., Schn. pl. v, Vingeram, Russ., 134;—C. maculatum, or Sc. maculatus, Mitch., Ann. New York Lyc., I, vi, 8; —C. Regale, Cuv., or Sc. regalis, Bl., 333, which is also the Scomberomore Plumier, Lacep., IM, 293;—C. cavalla, or Guarapuca, Marcgr. 178. (4) The ancient name of some fish of this family. (5) Scomber dentatus, Bl., Schn., or Sc. atun, Euphrasen and Lacep., or Acina- cée batarde, Bory St Vincent. (6) The ancient name of an unknown fish. (7) Gempules serpens, Cuy., or Serpens marinus compressus lividus, Sided ny £2 148 PISCES. nates their upper jaw; a powerful weapon 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 zthmoid,. frontals, and maxillaries. Their branchiz are not pectinated; each of them being formed of two large parallel laminz, the surface of which is reticulated.(1) They swim with astonishing swiftness, and their flesh is excellent. Xipuias, Cuv. The Sword-Fish, properly so called, has no ventrals. But one species is known. Xiphias gladius,L. (The Sword-Fish.) The point horizon- tally 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, fre- quently attaining the length of fifteen feet. It is more common in the Mediterranean than in the Atlantic Ocean. A parasitic crustaceous animal(2) penetrates into its flesh and sometimes renders it so furious that it dashes itself on shore.(3) Terraprurus, Rafin. Point of the muzzle shaped like a stilet; each ventral consisting 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 4iguille of the Sicilians, Tetrapturus belone, Rafin., Caratt., pl. i, f. 1. Maxaira, Lacep. The armed muzzle and two small crests of a Tetrapturus, but the ventrals are wanting. But a single specimen has ever been seen, and that was cap- tured at the island of Réen in 1802. It is the Mak. noiratre, Lacep.; Xiphias makaira, Sh.(4) (1) This led Aristotle to say that the Xiphias has eight branchiz. (2) Improperly named by Gmelin, the Pennatula filosa. (S) N.B. The Xiph. imperator, Bl., Schn., pl. 21, taken from Duham. Sect. IV, pl. xxvi, f. 2, is merely a copy of a bad figure given by Aldrovande (Pisc. p. 332) for that of the common Xiphias. This species must consequently be stricken off. (4) It yet remains to be seen whether this was not a Tetrapturus that had lost its ventrals. The fig. of Lacép., TV, xiii, 3, is taken from the rude drawing of a fisherman. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 149 IsrropHorus, Lacep.—Noristium, Herman. 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, pl. x3 Xiphias velifer, Bl., Schn.; Xiphias platisterus, Shaw, IV, part Il, p. 101, and was long oe de- _ scribed.(1) All the fishes of this genus attain a very large size. Centronotus, Lacep. A genus of Scomberoides characterized by the spines, which, in the Acanthopterygii in general, form the anterior portion of the dorsal, or a first separate dorsal, but in them are free and uncon- nected by a common as they all have ventrals. They are subdivided as follows: * Navorates, Rafin. 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 Fuufre of the sailors of Provence; Gasterosteus ductor, L.; Scomber ductor, Bl., 338, is blue with broad vertical bands of a much deeper blue. The vulgar 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 observed 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 Cetxupira, Marcgr., 158; Scomber niger, Bl. 337, which is eight or nine feet in length. ; ‘ ELACATES. The general form of a Naucrates, and its free dorsal spines; but the head is horizontally flattened, and both the caudal carina and the free spines before the anal are wanting.(2) (1) It has also been figured by Nieuhof, App.; Willugb., App., pl. V, f. 9, by Renard, I, pl. 34, f. 182, and 11, pl. 54, f. 233; by Valentyn, No. 527. The Gue- bucw, Marcgr. 171, hardly appears to differ from the species of India. LI. 345, is a falsified copy of a figure of Pr. Maurice, which differed much less from that of Marcgraye. (2) El motta, Cuy., Pedda mottah, Russel, 153; El. americana, Cuvy.,.Centro- 150 PISCES. . Lionta, Cuy. The free spines on the back, and two others, also free, before the anal; body compressed, and the tail without the lateral carine. 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 Vadigo, Rondelet, 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, Cuy.; Rond. 255. The blue on the back separated from the silvery hue on the belly by a zigzag line; the hooked teeth in a single range.(1) Lacépéde separates from the Lichiz, by the name of Scompr- RoIDES, 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 Scomber, properly so called.(2) The Tracuinotus, Lacep. From which his Acanrurinions and Cesiomores do not generi- cally differ, are Lichiz with an elevated body, a more vertical pro- file, and the dorsal and anal tapered into longer points.(3) RHYNCHOBDELLA, BI. Schn. 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 . notus spinosus, Mitch., Ann. cit. Nov., I, iii, 9, which is probably the Gasteros- teus canadensis, L.; and some new species. (1) Add, Scomb. calcar, Bl. 336, f. 2. . (2) Scomb. Forsteri, Bl., Schn., or Scomberorde Commersonien, Lacep., I, xx, 3, or Aken parah, Russ., 141;—Tolparah, Russ. 138;—Se. aculeatus, Bl. 336, 1;—WSe. lysan, Forsk;—Se. saliens, Bl. 335; and Lacep. I, xix;—Gasterosteus occidentalis, L., Brown., Jam., xlvi, 2;—Quiebra-acha, Parra, xii, 2. (3) Chetodon glaucus, Lacep. 210, or Acanthinion bleu, Lacep. IV, 500;—Chet. rhomboides, B1. 209, or Ac. rhombotde, Lacep.;—Gast. ovatus, L.., or Mookalée parah, Russ. 154;—Czsiomore Bloch, Lacep. I, iti, 2;—Scomber falcatus, Forsk.;—Cexsi- omore baillon, Lacep. Il, iii, 1;—Botlah-parah, Russel, 142. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 151 Macroenatuus, Lacep. The muzzle is prolonged into a cartilaginous point, which extends beyond the lower jaw; the second dorsal and the anal separated from the caudal.(1)_ MasracEMBELus, Gronoy. The two jaws about equal, and the dorsal and anal almost united with the caudal.(2) 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 understood. The NoracanTuus, Bl.—Campriitopon, 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. nasus, Bl. 431. The only species known; it inhabits the Arctic Ocean, and is two feet and a half in length. SERIOLA, Cuv. 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 Péche lait of the’ French at Pondichery; 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.(3) = (1) Rynchobdella orientalis, Bl. Schn., or Ophidium aculeatum, Bl., 159, 2, or Macrognate aiguillonné, Lacép. U, viii, 3;—Rh. polyacantha, Bl., Schn., or Macrog- nate armé, Lacép.; Buchan, pl. xxxvii, x, 6;—Rh. aral, B1., Schn., pl. Ixxxix;— Maerog. pancalus, Buchan., xxii, 7. (2) Rynchobdella halepensis, Bl., Schn.; Gronov., Zooph., pl. viii, a, X (3) Add, Seriole Dumeril, Risso;—Scomber fasciatus, Bl., 341;—Seriole de Rafin- esque, Risso, or Trachurus aquilus, Raff., Caratt. xi, 3 152 PISCES. There is a species whose last dorsal and anal ray is detached, Seriola bipinnulata, Cuv.; Zool. de Freycin., pl. 61, f. 3. Nomeus, Cuv. These fishes, which for a long time were placed among the Go- bies, are related in many particulars to the Seriole, but their ex- tremely large and broad ventrals, attached to the belly by their internal edge, give them a very peculiar character. Nom. mauritii, Cuy.; the Harder, Marcgr., 153. A species from the American seas; silvery, with transvérse black bands on the back.(1) Tremnopon, Cuv. The tail unarmed; the small fin, or free spines before the anal, of the Seriole; 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 branchiz. » Tem. saltator, Cuv. The only well known species; it is about the size of a Mackerel, and one of the small number of fishes common to both oceans.(2) 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 firsts the (1) It is the Gobius Gronovii, Gmel., the Gobiomore Gronovien, Lacep., the Eleo- tris *mauritit, Bl., Schn., and the Scomber zonatus, Mitch. Ann. Op. cit. IJ, iv, 3,— it attains the size of a Salmon. The other, Harder of Marcgr., Braz., 166, appears to be a Mugil. ‘ Harder or Herder, (Shepherd) is aname 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 Vomeus may have been confounded with it. (2) We possess specimens which scarcely differ from each other, from Alexan- dria, the United States, Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, and New Holland. It is the Cheilodiptéere leptacanthe, Lacep., U1, xxi, 3, copied from Commerson, and his Poma- tome skib, 1V, viii, 3, from Bosc. It is also the Perca saltatrix, L.; Catesb., IL, viii, 2, or Spare sauteur, Lacep. Add, Perca antarctica, Carmich., Lin. Trans. XI, xxv? ACANTHOPTERYGII. 153 last rays of the second but slightly connected, and sometimes sepa- rated into spurious ses some spines, free, or ering a small fin before the anal. Several species inhabit the seas of Europe, resembling the Mack- erel 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 “number of bands(1) and the more or less sudden curvature of the lateral line. Species very similar to those of nie are found as far as New-Zealand. In some, the plates merely cover the posterior and straight part of the lateral line, its anterior and arcuated portion being furnished with small scales. Some are fusiform, and of these, one has a single spurious, dorsal and anal fin,(2) another has several,(3) but most of them have none.(4) 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.(5) Some fishes of this genus, termed Carancurs by the French sailors, have an elevated body and a sharp profile, convexly curved, and descending suddenly. The species are very numerous in both oceans. C. carangus; Scomber carangus, Bl., 340. 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. III, xxvii, 3, is, on the contrary, very apt to prove poisonous.(6) (1) There are from seventy to a hundred of these bands. (2) Kurra-woodagahwah, Russ. 139;—Car. punctatus, Cuv., called Scomber hip- pos, by Mitch., New York, op. cit. I, v, 5, but which is not the hippos of Lin- nzus;—Curvata pinima, Marcgr. Braz. 150. (3) Scomber Rotleri, Bl., 346, and Russel, 143;—Sc. cordyla, L., but not his sy- nonymes, which are Caranet. (4) Scomb. crumenophtalmus, Bl., 343;—Sc. Plumieri, B1., 344, the same as the Sc. ruber, 343, and asthe Caranzx Daubenton, Lacép. iil, 71. (5) Scomb. dentex, Bl., Schn.;—Caranzx lune, Geoff. Saint-Hil., Eg. Poiss. xxiii, 3, to which the Citula Banksii, Riss., 2d ed. VI, 13, and perhaps the Trachurus imperialis, Rafin., Car. XI, 1, are, at least, closely allied. (6) Add, the Scomb. hippos, L., which is the Sec. chrysos, Mitch.;—Ekalah pa- rah, Russ. 146, perhaps the Scomb. ignobilis, Forsk.;—Car. sea-fasciatus, Quoy et Gaym., Zool., Freycin., pl. 65, f. 4;—Jarra dandree parah, Russ. 147;—Scomb. Vou. Il.—U 154 PISCES. We might also distinguish those species which have no teeth,(1) and those, the points of whose second dorsal and anal are extremely elongated, which I have designated by the name of CrruLz.(2) We are thus gradually led to fishes that may be united under the common name of VoMER, Which become more and more compressed and elevated, where,the armature of the lateral line successively diminishes, and the skin becomes fine, satiny, and without any apparent scales, which have no other teeth than very short, fine and crowded ones, and which are distinguished from each other by various prolongations of some of their fins. | Linnzus and Bloch placed them, but improperly, in the genus Zeus. We divide them as follows: Ouistus, Cuv. Differing from Citula, inasmuch as the middle rays of the second dorsal are not branched, but merely articulated, and are extended into long filaments. (3) Scyris, Cuv., 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.(4) ; Bieruaris, Cuy. Long filaments to the second dorsal and anal; ventrals much pro- longed, the spines of the first hardly piercing the skin;(5) body ele- vated; the profile not more curved than usual. Gatutus, Cuv. The profile more vertical than in Blepharis, but all the other cha- racters similar.(6) . Kleinii, Bl. 347, 2;—Sc. Sansun, Forsk;—Kuguroo-parah, Russ. 145;— Talan-parah, Id. 150, or Scomb. malabaricus, Bl., Schn.;—Wootin-parah, Russ. 148. (1) Scomb. speciosus, Lacep. I, 1, 1, or Polooso-parah, Russ. 149, of which the Car. petaurista, Geoff., Egypt., XXIII, 1, appears to be the adult. (2) Tehawil-parah, Russ. 151;—Mais-parah, Id. 152. (3) The species is new. (4) The Gal. d’Alexandrie, Geoff. Eg., Poiss., XXII, 2. oii (5) Zeus ciliaris, Bl. 196;—Zeus sutor, Cuy., the Cordonnier of Martinique. (6) Zeus gallus, L., Bl., or Gurrah-parah, Russ. 57;—Chewoola-parah, Id. 58. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 155 ARGYREIOSUS, Cuv. The profile still more elevated; the first dorsal decidedly mark- ed, and some of its rays prolonged into filaments like those of the second. Their ventrals also are much lengthened.(1) In VomeEr, properly so called, The body is compressed, and the profile vertical, as in GaLus and Arcyretosus, but there is no prolongation to any of the fins.(2) The genus ZeEvs, Lin. After abstracting the Galli and Argyreiosi, &c., comprehends fishes with a compressed body, an extremely protractile mouth like that of the Menides, and having but few and weak teeth. They re- quire however to be greatly subdivided. Zeus, Cuy. 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. fuber, L., Bl. 41. (The Common Dory.) Yellowish, with a round black spot on the flank; an excellent fish, that is some- times styled the Fish of St Peter. Z. pungio, Cuv.; Rond. 328, is another species, dein aioe by a stout bifurcated spine on the shoulder.. From the Medi- terranean. Carros, Lacep. The emarginated dorsal of the Dories, and a mouth still more pro- tractile; but no spines along the dorsal and anal; the entire body co- vered with very rough scales. But one species is known, Zeus aper, L., which is small and yellowish. It inhabits the Mediterranean.(3) The (1) Zeus vomer, Mus., Ad. Fred. xxxi, 9, and better, BI. 93, 2, or Abacatuia, Marcegr. 161;—Zeus rostratus, Mitch., op. cit- 1, 1. N.B. The Zeus niger, Bl., Schn., is founded on a mistake; a figure of the Zhacatuia, in the work of Marcgrave, p- 145, having been placed next to the description of the Guaperva, or Chetodon arcuatus. The Séléne argentée, Lacep. 1V, ix, 2, isan Abacatuia, whose first dorsat and ventrals had been worn. His Sé/éne quadrangulaire, is the Chet. faber. (2) Zeus setapinnis, Mitch., op. cit. 1, 9, Labat., Voy. de Desmarchais, I, p. 312. (S) It is also the Perca pusilla of Brunnich. 156 PISCES. Lampris, Retzius.—Curysorosus, Lacep. Has 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 ante- rior 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 red fins.(1) It attains alarge size, and inhabits the Arctic seas; the only species known. Eauuta, Cuv. A single dorsal, but with several small spines, the anterior of which are sometimes very long; the snout highly protractile; body compressed; edges of the back and belly dentated along the fins. They are small fishes, several species of which inhabit the Indian Ocean.(2) 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.(3) Meng, Lacep. Snout of an Equula, and the entire body more compressed; abdo- men 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 pectorals. But one species is known; the Mené Anne-Caroline, Lacep., (1) It is the Zeus regius, Bonnat. Encycl., Icthyol., f. 155; the Z. imperialis, Shaw, Nat. Misc., No. 140; the Z. luna, Gmel.; the Z. guttatus, Brunnich, Soc. des. Sc: de Copenh., III, 388; the Scomber pelagicus, Gunner, Mem: de Dronth., IV, xii, 1; the Chrysotose lune, Lacép. IV, ix, 3; the Moon-Fish, Duham., Sect. IV, pl. vi, f. 5; the Opah of Pennant, &c. (2) The type of this genus is the Scomber equula of Forskal, of which Gmelin has made his Centrogaster equula, and Lacép. his Czszo poulain. Add, Eq. ensifera, Cuy., or Scomber edentulus, Bl. 428, or Leyognathe argenté, Lacep.;—£q. cara, Cuy., Russ. 66;—Lq. fasciata, Cuy., or Clupea fasciata, Lacep. V, p. 463, Mem. du Mus. I, xxiii, 2;—Zq. splendens, Cuy., Russ. 61;—Hq. dawra, Cuy., Russ. 65;— Eq. totta, Russ. 62;—Eq. coma, Russ., et Seb. TI, xxvii, 4, 63;—Hq. ruconius, Buchan, XI, 35;—Eq. minuta, Cuv., or Scomber minutus, BI. 429, 2, which may very possibly be the same as the Zeus argentarius, Forster, IX, Schn. 96. (3) Eq. insidiatriz, Cuv., or Zeus insidiator, Bl. 192, f. 2 and 3. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 157 V, xiv, 2, or the Zeus maculatus, Bl., Schn. pl. xxii, Rus- sell.,60. It is of a fine silver colour, spotted with blackish near the back. From the Indian Ocean. SrromMatTevs, Lin. The same compressed form as in the different species of Zeus, and similar diminutive and slightly apparent scales, under a satiny epi- dermis; but the snout is obtuse and non-protractile; a single dorsal whose few spines are concealed in its anterior edges 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 esophagus is armed with a number of spines which are attached to the velvet by radiating roots. §. fiatola, L.; Belon, Aquat., 153; Rondel. 493.(1) A pretty, oblong species, inhabiting the Mediterranean, remarkable for spots and interrupted bands of a golden tint, on a lead coloured ground. S. stellatus, Cuy., 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. They are generally more elevated than the fiatola, and spines or trenchant blades are frequently found before their dorsal, and even their anal.(2) We may dis- tinguish from among them the Prpritus, Cuy. Where the pelvis forms a trenchant and pointed blade, before the anus, that might be taken for a vestige of ventrals.(3) Besides this, there are the trenchant blades of which we have just spoken, and there is even one species in which these blades are crenated.(4) (1) This fig., in which the left pectoral is bent downwards, being mistaken by Lacép. for a ventral, gave rise to his genus Chrysostromus, which must conse- quently be suppressed. (2) The Stromateus niger, Bl. 422, and better 160, under the false name of Sér. paru, Russ. 43;—the Str. albus, Cuv., Russ. 44;—WStr. candidus, Cuv., Russ. 42;— Str. argenteus, Fuphrasen, New Stockh. Mem., IX, pl. ix, or Str. aculeatus, BI., Schn. ;—St#r. griseus, Cuv. (3) Cheetodon alepidotus, L., or Stromateus longipinnis, Mitch. ;—Str. cryptosus, Mitch. ;—Str. paru, Sloane, Jam. Il, pl. ccl, f. A. (4). Peprilus crenulatus, Cuv., a small and new species. 158 _PISCES. : Luvarus, Rafin. Apparently closely approaches 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’Ittiol., Sicil., pl. i, f. 1. Sil- very, with a reddish back; an extremely large species that inha- bits the seas ‘of Europe.(1) SESERINUS, Cuv. All the characters of the Stromatei, even internally; but there are two small ventrals, or rather vestiges of ventrals. Ses. Rondeletii, Cuv.; Rondel., 257. Asmall species from the Mediterranean. Kurrus, Bl. The fishes of this genus are closely allied to those of 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 branchiz: 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 be- neath the tail, in the inferior rings of the vertebrz, in a long and thin tube which contains the natatory bladder. The Kurt. indicus, Bl., 169, is very probably the female of the Kur- tus cornutus or Somdrum-Kara-Mottee of Russel, a fish very re- markable for a little cartilaginous and curved horn, which rises from the first of the small trenchant blades before the dorsal. CorypHa@na, Lin. The body compressed, elongated, covered with small scales; upper part of the head trenchant; a dorsal extending along the whole of (1) A specimen was taken at the isle of Né, in 1826, a drawing of which was forwarded to us by M. Journal Rouquet. I suspect that we should refer to it, at least as a congener, the usonia Cuvieri, Risso, 2d ed. pl. xi, f. 28, which is figured, however, with two anal spines. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 159 the back, composed of rays almost equally flexible, although there is no articulation to the anterior ones; seven rays in the branchiz. CorypHana, Cuyv. The head much elevated; its profile curved into an are which de- scends very suddenly; eyes very far down; teeth in the palate as well as in the jaws. Large and beautiful fishes, celebrated for the rapi- dity of their motions, and the eternal war they wage against the Flying-fish. C. hippurus, L. Sixty dorsal rays; a silvery-blue above, with deep blue spots; a lemon-yellow with light blue spots beneath. From the Mediterranean. Several neighbouring species are found in the ocean, hitherto confounded with it.(1) Caranxomous, Lacep. The head oblong and but slightly elevated, the eye in a mediate position, thus differing in both these respects from the true Cory- phenz.(2) In the ' Crntrrotopnus, Lacep. The palatine teeth are wanting; there is an interval without rays between the occiput and the commencement of the dorsal.(3) A species of each of these two last subgenera inhabits the Mediterra- nean, and occasionally strays into the ocean. AsTRoDERMUS, Bonnelli. The elevated and trenchant head and long dorsal of the Cory- phenz; but the mouth is slightly cleft; there are but four rays in the branchiz, and their ventrals are very small and placed on the throats; the scattering scales of the body assume the radiated form of small stars. Astrod. guttatus, Bonn.; Diana semilunata, Risso, Ed. II, pl. vii, f. 14. Silvery, spotted with black; red fins, and a very high dorsal. From the Mediterranean, and the only species known.(4) (1) We will describe several of them in our Icthyology, and endeavour to settle their synonymes. (2) Scomber pelagicus, L., Mus. Ad. Fred., xxx, f. 3, or Cychla pelagica, Bl, Schn.;—Cor. fasciolata, Pall., Spic., Zool., Fasc., VIII, pl. iii, f. 2. (3) Coryphyhxna pompilus, L., Rondel. 250;—the Centrolophe négre, Lacep. IV, 441, the same as the Perca nigra, Gmel., Borlasse, Hist. of Cornw., pl. xxvi, f. 8, or Holocentre noir, Lacep.; the Merle, Duham., Sect. LV, pl. vi, f. 2. (4) Astrodermus guttatus, Bonnelli, or Diana semilunata, Riss. 2d ed., VU, f. 14. 160 PISCES. Preracuis, Gronoy.—O.icoropvs, Lacep. Teeth and head of the Coryphenz; but the scales are larger, the ventrals jugular and very small, and the dorsal and anal as high as the fish itself. P. velifer; Coryphena velifera, Pall., Spic. Zool., Fasc., VIII, pl. 1.(1) From the Carolinas, and the only species known. FAMILY VIII. TANIOIDES. This family is closely connected with the Scomberoides, 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. In the first tribe we find 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, Leripopus, 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 branchizs; the stomach is elongated, with upwards of twenty cecums near the pylorus, and a prominent glandular body is attached to the natatory bladder, which is long and slender. Lep. argyreus, Cuv. Frequently five feet in length; it has been described under several names,(2) and is found from Eng- land to the Cape of Good Hope, but is rare every where. (1) Bosc assures us that he caught it in Carolina; Pallas says that his is from the Moluccas.—They may be different species. (2) It is the Lepidopus of Gouan., Hist. Pisc., pl. i, fig. 4; the Trichiurus caudatus, Euphrasen, New Stockh. Mem., IX, pl. ix, f. 2; the T'rich. gladius, Holten, Soc. Hist. Nat. Copenh. V, p. 23, and pl. ii; the T'rich. ensiformis of Vau- delli, or Vandellius lusitanicus of Shaw; the Ziphotheca tetradens of Montagu, Wer- ner. Soc. I, p: 81, pl. ii; the Sarcina argyrea, Rafin., Nuov. Caratt., pl. vii, f. 1; the Lepidope Peron, Risso; and the Lepidope argenté of Nardo. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 161 Tricniurus, Lin.—Lerrurus, Artedii—GyMNOGASTER, . Gronov. Thesame form of body, muzzle, and jaws, as in Lepidopus; simi- lar pointed and trenchant teeth, and a dorsal extending along the back, but the ventrals 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 perceptible spines on the under edge of the tail; the branchiz have but seven rays. They resemble beautiful silver ribands; their stomach is elongated and thick; their intestines straight; their ceca numerous, and their na- tatory bladder long and simple. Trich. lepturus, Lin.; Brown, Jam., pl. xlv, f. 4,(1) 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 TJrich. haumela, Schn.; Clupea haumela, Forsk., and Gmel.; Savala, Russel, I, 41, is very similar to the lepturus, being only somewhat shorter. The other, 7rich. savala, Cuv., is still less elongated, and has a smaller eye.(2) A second tribe comprehends genera in which the mouth is small, and but slightly cleft. Gymnerrus, Bl. The body elongated and flat, as in all the preceding divisions, and, to- tally 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 ina small hook. There are six rays in the branchiz: 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 very fragile; they have been frequently and incorrectly figured from mutilated specimens;(3) their bones, the vertebrz in (1) It is the Ubirre of Laet., Ind. Occid. 573, which, through a mistake, pointed out by himself, he has placed in Marcgr.,p. 161, as belonging to the description of the Mucu, which is a Murena; this mistake has produced such confusion, that Bloch and others were led to believe that the Trichiurus is a fresh-water fish. (2) A transposition in the text of Nieuhof has caused electric properties to be attributed to the Trichiuri of India, which they most assuredly do not possess. (3) The Fal venctorum of elon, of which Gouan has made his genus Tra- Vou. I.—V 162 PISCES. particular, are but very slightly indurated, their stomach is elon- gated, and their ceca are very numerous; the natatory bladder is wanting, and their mucous flesh is very rapidly decomposed. Several species are found in the European seas which differ in the number of their dorsal rays, and which when entire, that is when young, frequently present a most singular appearance from the pro- longation of their fins. The most brilliant of the Mediterranean species has but from one hundred and forty to a hundred and fifty dorsal rays: it has only been seen small, or of a moderate size. Another has from a hundred and seventy toa hundred and seventy-five, specimens 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;(1) one of which is said by some to have one hundred and twenty rays, and by others one hundred and sixty, and to attain the length of ten feet; the other has more than four hundred rays, and is eighteen feet in length.(2) The ventrals consist of a long filament dilated near the extremity. They are also found in India.(3) ann nEnnn ESE cuyprervs, and which has become the Cepola trachyptera, Gmel., only differs from the Tenia altera of Rondel., 327, and even from his Tenia prima, which is the Cepola tenia, L., and from the Spada maxima, Imperati, 517, or Cepola gladius of Walbaum, and from the T'znia falcata, Aldrov., or Cepola iris of Walbaumn, in the various degrees of individual mutilation. It is the same with respect to the Vogmar of the Icelanders of Olafsen and Powelsen, Isl., tr. fr., pl. li, or Gymnogaster arcti- cus of Brunnich, Soc. Scient. Copenh., II, pl. xiii, which i is the genus Boemarus, Bl., Schn.; with respect to the Gymnetre cépédien, Risso. ‘Ed. I, pl. v, f. 17; to the Argyctius quadrimaculatus, Rafin. Caratt., I, f. 3, to his Scarcina quadrimaculata and imperialis; to the Gymnetrus mediterraneus of Otto; to the Hpidesmus macula- tus of Ranzani, Opusc. Scientif. Fascic., VIII, and to the Regalecus maculatus of Narde, Phys. Journ., Pavia, VIII, pl. i, f. 1. All these fishes hardly differ in spe- cies and not in the least as to genus. Bonnelli’s specimen was the least mutilated: he calls it T'achypterus cristatus, Acad. Turin, XXIV, pl. ix. (1) It isthe Regalecus glesne, Ascanius, Ic., Fasc. II, pl. xi, which he afterwards named Ophidium glesne, Mem. Soc. Scient. Copenh., III, p. 419, or the Fegalicus remipes, Brunnich, fb. pl. B, f.4.and 5. Bloch., Syst.; pl. 88, copies and alters the figure of Ascanius. A better copy is, Encycl. Method., f. 358. (2) Gymnetrus Grillit, Lindroth, New Stockh. Mem., XIX, pl. viii. (3) Gymnetrus Russelii, Shaw, IV, part. IL, page 195, pl. 28. Add the Gymnetrus Hawkenii, if the figure be correct; but the Regalec lancéolé, or Ophidie chinoise, Lacép., I, xxii, 3, or the Gymnetrus cepedianus, Shaw, does not belong to this genus. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 163 STYLEPHORUS, 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. WS. chordatus, Shaw, Lin. Trans. I, vi, Nat. Misc., VII, pl. 274, and Gen. Zool., IV, part I, pl. ii. A badly preserved spe- cimen, and the only one known. It was taken in the Gulf of Mexico, and for a long time we only had the above mutilated drawing of it. M. de Blainville however has given us a more regular figure; Journ. de Phys. tome LXXXVII, pl. i, f. 1, which exhibits no ventrals. In a third tribe the snout is short, and the mouth cleft ob- liquely. Crpoua, Lin.(1) A long dorsal and anal, both reaching to the base of the caudal, which is tolerably larges no rise in the cranium; snout short; lower jaw curved upwards; the teeth prominent, and the ventrals suffi- ciently developed. There are but two or three non-articulated rays in the dorsal, which are as flexible as the others; the spine of the ventrals is alone stiff and sharp; there are six rays in the branchiz, and the abdominal cavity is very short as well as the stomach; there are some czca and a natatory bladder which extends into the base of the tail. Cep. rubescens, L.; Lin. Trans., VII, xvii; and Bl., 170, under the false name of Cep. tznia.(2) A Mediterranean species of a reddish colour. Loruores, Giorna. A short head, surmounted with a high osseous crest; to whose sum- mit a long and stout spine is articulated, bordered behind with a membrane and a low fin, whose rays are nearly all simple, extending from this spine 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, com- (1) This name of Czroxa, given by Willughby as a Roman synonyme of the Fe- rasfer, has been applied by Linn. to the present genus, to which the Fierasfer does not belong. (2) Add the Cepola japonica, Krusenst. Voy. pl, Ix, f. i. 164 PISCES. posed 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 branchiz, and the abdominal cavity occupies nearly the whole length of the body. L. cepedianus, Giorna, Mem. of the Imp. Acad. of Turin, 1805, 1808, p. 19, pl. 2. The only species known; it is found, though rarely, in the Mediterranean, and becomes very large.(1) FAMILY IX. THEUTYES. Our ninth family is as closely allied to the Scomberoides as the preceding one, but 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 con- tains 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, feeding on fucus and other marine plants; their intestines are very large. Sicanus, Forsk.—Buro, Commer.—CenTroGaAsTer, Hout. —AmpPuHacantuus, Bloch. These fishes have a remarkable character—unique, in icthyology— in their ventrals, which are furnished with two spinous rays, one external, 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 curve as they lengthen, so as to unite at their extremities with the first interspinal of the anal.(2) . Numerous species are found in the Indian Ocean.(3) (1) The description of Giorna is*imperfect, because he only'had a mutilated specimen 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. (2) Geoffr., Phil. Anat. I, 471, and pl. ix, f. 108. (3) Theutis javus, L., Gronoy., Zoophyl., pl. VII, f. 4;—Siganus stellatus, © Forsk.;—Amphac. punctatus, Bl., Schn., or Acanthurus meleagris, Shaw;—Buro brunneus, Commers., Lacep., V, 421;—Siganus rivulatus, Forsk;—dmphae nebu- ACANTHOPTERVYGII. 165 AcantTuurvs, Lacep. and Bl.—Harpurus, Forst. Teeth trenchant and notched; a strong movable 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 of Surgeons. They inhabit the hot parts of both oceans.(1) The dorsal of some species is very high.(2) Some have a sort of brush composed of stiff hairs, before the lateral spine.(3) In others again the teeth are deeply notched, or pectinated on one side.(4) The Prionurus, Lacep. Only differs from the preceding genus in the armature of the sides of the tail, which consists of a suite of fixed, horizontal and trench- ant blades.(5) Nasevus, Commers.—Monoceros, Bl. Schn. 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 branchiz and three soft ones in the ventrals; the skin resembles leather.(6) losus, Quoy and Gaym., Zool. Voy. Freycin., p. 369;—Centrogaster fuscescens, Houttuyn.;—Chztodon guttatus, Bl. 196;—Amph. marmoratus, Quoy and Gaym., Voy. Freycin., Zool., pl. 62, f. 1 and 2;—Amph. magniahac, Ib. f. 3;—Centrogas- ter argentatus, Houtt., and several others to be described in our Icthyology. (1) Chetodon chirurgus, Bl., 208;—Theutis hepatus, L.; Seb. Tl, xxxiii, f. 3;— Ac. glauco-pareius, Cuv., Seb., Ill, xxv, 3, which appears to be the true Chextodon nigricans, L..;—Chext. triostegus, Brousson., Dec. Icht. No. 4, or Acanthure zébre, Lacép., which is also his Chet. zébre, I, xxv, 3;—A4c. guttatus, Bl., Schn, ;—Ae. suillus, Cuv., Renard, I, pl. xiv, f. 82;—Chet. lineatus, L.; Seb. 11, xxv, 1;—Chet. Achilles, Broussonnet;—Chzt. meta, Russ. 82;—Cheat. sohal, Forsk., of which Lacép. has very improperly made a genus under the name of Apiswrus;—Ac. striatus, Cuy.; Paningu, Renard, pl. 1, f. 8;—.4c. argenté, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freycin., p- 63, f. 3;—Chet. nigrofuscus, Forsk.;—Chet. nigricans, Bl. 203, which is not that of Linnzus. (2) Ac. velifer, Bl. 427. (3) Ac. scopas, Cuv., Renard, I, pl. xi, 101. (4) fc. ctnedon, Cuy., anew species. ; (5) Prionure microlepidote, Lacép., An. Mus. IV, p. 205;—canthurus scalprum, Langsdorf. (6) Naseus fronticornis, Cuv., Lacép. IU, vii, 2, Bl., Schn., pl. 42, Hasseq,, it. pal. 332;—Was. tundock, Ren. I, iy, 23; Valent. 518;—Ch2t. wnicornis, Forsk., differ from our first species. — Vas. brevirostris, Cuv., Ren. I, xxiv, 130;—as. tumifrons, 166 PISCES. Axinurus, Cuv. More elongated and without horn or knob, but with the same bran- chial 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.(1) Priopon, Cuy. The notched teeth of Acanthurus, the three soft ventral rays of Na- seus, and the unarmed tail of Siganus.(2) FAMILY X. This family is distinguished by LABYRINTHIFORM PHARYNGEALS. By this we mean, that part of the superior pharyngeals of these fishes are divided into small irregular lamell, more or less numerous, intercepting cells containing water, which thus flows upon and humects the branchize, while the animal is re- moved from its proper element. By this it is enabled to quit the rivulet or pool, which constitutes its usual element, and crawl to a considerable distance from it, a singular faculty, not unknown to the ancients,(3) and which induces the people of India to believe that they fall from heaven. ANABAS, Cuv. It is in this genus that we find the greatest degree of complication in these labyrinths; the third pharyngeals, however, have teeth en pavés, and there are others behind the cranium. Their body is Cuy., badly drawn, Ren. I, 178;—Vas. incornis,'Cuv., Ren. I, f. 128, and not so well, f. 147, probably the Acanthurus harpuras, Shaw;—Was. carolinarum, Quoy and Gaym. op. cit. pl. 63, f. 1;—Vas. tuber, Commers., or Wason-Loupe, Lacép., IL, vii, 3, or Acanthurus nasus, Shaw, Renard, I, f. 79, Valent., No. 119 and 478. (1) Axinurus thynnoides, Cuv., a new species brought by Quoy and Gaymard from New Guinea. (2) Priodon annularis, Cuv., 2 new species brought from Timor by the same gentlemen. (3) 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 a Mugil. ; ' { ACANTHOPTERYGII. 167 round and covered 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 preoper- culum. There are five rays in the branchiz, and many spinous ones in the dorsal, and even in the anal. The stomach is moderate, round- ed, and their pylorus has but three appendages. But one species is known, An. testudineus, Cuv.(1), called the Paneiri or Tree-Climber; highly celebrated because it not only leaves the water, but, ac- cording to Daldorf, even climbs up the shrubs on its banks; this latter assertion, however, is denied. Found throughout all India. Potyacantuus, Kuhl. Rays spinous; as numerous as in Anabas, and more so; the same mouth, scales, and interrupted lateral line; but neither of the oper- cula is dentated; the body is compressed, and there are four rays in the branchiz; 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 cecal appendages. Found in rivers, &c. throughout all India.(2) The Macropopvus, Lacep. Only differs from Polyacanthus in a less extended dorsal, which ter- minates, as well as the caudal and the ventrals, in a slender point, more or less elongated. The anal is larger than the dorsal. Fresh-water fishes, found in India and China.(3) Herostoma, Kuhl. In addition to the characters of Polyacanthus, the fishes of this genus have a small compressed mouth, so protractile that it seems to ad- vance from the sub-orbitals and to retreat between them; 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 (1) It is the Amphiprion scansor, Bl., Schn., p. 204 and 570, or Perca scandens, Daldorf, Lin, Trans. Il, p. 62. It is also the Anthias testudineus, Bl., pl. 322, and the Coiws coboius, Ham. Buchan, pl. xiii, f. 38. (2) Frichopodus colisa, H. Buchan. ;—T'rich. bejews, Id. 118;—Trich. cotra, 1d. 119;—Tr. lalius, Id. 120;—T'r. sola, Id. Ib.;—T'r. chuna, Id. 121;—T'richogaster fasciatus, BL, Schn., pl. xxxvi, p. 164;—Chetodon chinensis, Bl., pl. cexviii, f. 1. (3) The Macropode vert doré, Lacép. THI, xvi, 1, and a new and much more beau- tiful species with alternate red and green bands. | ine PISCES. . branchiz, on the side next to the mouth, are furnished with lamellz, nearly similar to the external ones, which may also assist in the pro- cess of respiration.(1) Their stomach is small, and has but two pyloric appendages, but their intestine is very long; the parietes of their natatory bladder are thick. OsPHROMENUs, Commers.(2) All the characters of a Polyacanthus, but the forehead is somewhat concave; the anal larger than the dorsal, as in Macropodus; the sub- orbitals and lower part of the preoperculum very finely dentated; the first soft ray of the ventrals extremely long; six branchial rays and the body strongly compressed. A species of %. genus origin- ally from China, Osphr. olfax, Commers.; the Gourami; Lacep. III, iii, 2, be- comes as large as the Turbot, and is considered even more deli- cious. It was introduced into the ponds of the Isle of France, where it increases rapidly, and has been taken thence to Cay- enne. The female is said to form a cavity in the sand for the * reception of hereggs. The Tricnopopus, Lacep. Differs from Osphromenus in having a more conyex forehead, and a shorter dorsal, besides which there are but four rays in the bran- chi; the first soft ray of their ventrals very long. : There, is but one species known; a small fish of the Moluccas, marked with a black spot on the side.(3) SPIROBRANCHUus, Cuv. The general form of Anabas, but the opercula are not dentated; the operculum merely terminating in two points; a series of palatine teeth. (1) But one species is known (Hel. T'emminckii, Cuy.), from the Moluccas, which we shall minutely describe in our Icthyology. (2) This name is derived from ¢cgecuas (olfacio), and was invented by Com- merson, who ,conjectured that the hollow pharyngeals visible in this fish, as in others of the family, might be organs of smell, a kind of ethmoides. N.B. The Osphromene gal. Lacép., Scarus gallus, Forsk. isa Julis, Nob.; but we have two new species of true Ophromeni; Ophr. notatus, and the vittatus, Cuv. (3) It is the Labrus trichopterus, Gmel., Pall., Spic., Fasc. VII, p. 45; the Z- chopterus Pallasii, Shaw, 1V, part Il, p. 392; the Trichogaster trichopterus, Bl.,Schn., and the T'richopode trichoptére, Lacep. N.B.'The T'richopode mentonnier, Lacgr., or T. satyrus, Shaw, vol. IV, part Hl, p. 391, only rests upon a bad figure of Gou- rami. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 169 Sp. capensis, Cuv. A diminutive fresh water fish from the Cape of Good Hope; the only species qpows. The e OPHICEPHALUS, Bl. ‘Resembles all the preceding genera in most of its characters, and particularly in the cellular conformation of the pharyngeals, which are adapted to retain water. These fishes also creep to a consi- derable distance from their liquid abodes, but what particularly dis- tinguishes, and even separates, them, from all other Acanthopte- rygii, 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 cylindri- cal; 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 branchiz; 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 czecums adhere to the pylorus. The abdominal cavity extends above the anal, close to the end of the tail. The jugglers of India exhibit this fish out of water, and even the children amuse themselves by forcing it to crawl upon the ground. In the markets of China the larger species are cut up alive for distribution.(1) They may be divided by the number of their dorsal rays. Some have but thirty odd of these rays.(2) Others forty odd.(3) Some again have more than fifty.(4) FAMILY XI. MUGILOIDES. Our eleventh family of the Acanthopterygii is composed of the genus (1) This is most incontestably the genus alluded to by ‘Theophrastus. (2) Ophicephalus punctatus, Bl., or Oph. lata, Buchan;—O. marginatus, Cuv., * or 0. gachua, Buchan.? pl. xxi, f. 21, or Cor. motta, Russel, I, pl. 164;—0O. auran- ticus, Buch. ' (3) Ophicephalus striatus, Bl. 359, or Muttah, Russel, pl. 162, or O. chena, Buch.? —0. sola, Id. ;—O. sowara, Russ. 163. (4) Ophicephalus marulius, Buch., which is the. Bostrichotde cillé, Lacep. I, xiv, 3;—Oph. barca, Buch. xxxv, 20, to which the Bostriche tachett, Lacep. II, p. Vor. Tl.—W 170. PISCES. ; Muert, Lin. 8 These fishes present so many peculiarities in their organization,’ that they may be considered as forming a distinct family; 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 inserted a little behind the pectorals. There are six rays in the branchiz; their’ head is somewhat depressed, and co- vered with large scales or polygonal plates, their muzzle very short. _ Their transverse mouth, in consequence of a prominence in the middle of the lower jaw, which corresponds with a depression in the upper one, forms an angle, the teeth being excessively tenuous, and frequently almost imperceptible. Their pharyngeal bones, highly developed, give an angular form to the opening of the wsophagus, similar to that of thé 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 resort to the-mouths of rivers in large troops, and are con- tinually leaping out of the water; the European seas produce several species hitherto very imperfectly ascertained; their flesh is esteemi- ed.(1) y 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 pos- terior edge of the orbit; by the fact, that wien the mouth is closed, the maxillary is completely hidden under the sub-orbital; and by the base of the pectoral being surmounted by a long and’ cariviated crest. The nasal openings are separated from each other, and the teeth are tolerably prominent. It is the largest _and best of the Mediterranean species. We have not seeniton — the Atlantic coast of Europe, but its characters are visible in several species of India and of America.(2) Another species 143, is at least very closely allied, and several new species to be described in our Icthyology. , (1) Linnzus and several of his successors have confounded all the European’ Mullets under a single species, their Mugil cephalus. (2) America produces five or six species badly characterized and confounded by Linn., under the name of M. albula. Among the number is the M. Plumieri, BL, Benatne a Sphyrena in Bl. Schn. .. p- 110, and the M. lineatus, Mitch. The true cephalus of the Mediterranean is found on the whole African coast. Add, of species from India, the Bontah, Russel, 11, 180, or the M. our. of Forsk. -, perhaps the same as our cephalus;—the Kunmesee, Id. 181;—-M. corsyla, Buch., pl. ix, 97. « *® wae Ta eee Eee ee ACANTHOPTERYGII. * 171 nearly as large and common to the Mediterranean and the ocean is the ’ “ae M. capito, Cuv.; the Romando of Nice. 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 edge 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 fin.(1) , Two smaller species, M. auratus, and M. saltator, Risso, ap- proach the capito; the maxillary of the first is hidden under the sub-orbital asin the cephalus, but the nasal orifices are approxi- mated 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.(2) A third large species also common to both seas, is the "M. chelo, Cuv. Particularly distinguished 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 re- curved, and shows itself behind the commissure. M. labeo, Cuv.,'a small, Mediterranean species, has, in pro- portion to its size, still larger lips, with crenated borders. Se- veral of these thick lipped species are found in the Indian Ocean.(3) The TretTraconurus, Risso, ’ So called from the two salient crests that are found on each side near the base of the caudal, is another of these insulated genera, which seem to indicate particular families. These fishes are partly allied to the Mullets, and partly to the Scomberoides. Their body is elon- gated; their spinous dorsal long but very low, the soft one approxi- mated to it, short but higher, and the anal corresponding to the latter; the ventrals are a little distance behind the pectorals. The - (1) This appears to us to be the species particularly described by Willoughby and figured by Pennant. (2) Add the IM. christian, Voy- Freycin.;—M. Ferrandi, tb.;—M. parsia, Buch., pl. xvii, f. 71;—M. curcasia, Id.;—M. peradak, Cuv., Russ. 182. (3) M. crenilabis, Forsk.;—M. cirrhosthomus, Forst., App. Bl., Schn., 121. N.B. The M. cwruleo-maculatus, Lacép. V, 389, the same represented under the name of crenilabis, pl. xiii, f. 1, belongs to the same group as the capito. The Mu- gil appendiculatus, 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. I, xi, 2, is a Gerres;—the J. chanos, Forsk., belongs to the Cyprinide. 172 : PISCES. 4 branches of the lower jaw, which are raised vertically and provided with a range of transparent pointed teeth, forming a kind of saw, are enclosed, when the mouth is shut, by those of the upper one. There is also a small series of pointed teeth in each palatine, aud two in the vomer. Their stomach is fleshy and doubled, their cz- cums numerous, and their intestine long. The esophagus is fur- nished internally with hard and pointed papillz. Tetrag. Cuvieri, Risso; Courpata or Corbeau, of the Mediter- ranean coast, is the only species known, and is never taken ex- cept in very deep water. It is a foot long, and black; the scales hard, deeply striate and indented. The flesh is said to be poi- sonous.( 1) I also place a genus between the Mugiloides and the Go- bioides, which does not completely harmonize with any other. I mean the ATHERINA, Lin. The body elongated; two dorsals widely separated; the ventrals fur- ther back than the pectorals; the mouth highly protractile and fur- nished with very minute teeth; a broad silvery band along each flank on all the known species. There are six rays in the branchix; the stomach has no cul-de-sac, and their duodenum no cecal appendages. The transverse processes of the last abdominal vertebrx are bent, and thus form a little conical bag or cornet, which receives the point of the natatory bladder. These little fishes are highly esteemed for the delicacy of their flesh. The young ones remain for a long time in crowded troops, and are consumed on the coast of the Mediterranean’ under the name of Nonnat, the 4phyes of the ancients. Several species inhabit European seas, hitherto confounded with the Ath. hepsetus, L. Ath. hepsetus, Cuv.;(2) Sauclet of Languedoc, or Cabassous of Provence; Rondel., 216; Duham., sect. VI, pl. 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 vertebrz in all. Ath. Boyer, Risso; Joel or Cabassouda, Rondel., 217. The (1) There is no good figure of it: Mugil niger, Rondel. 423; Corvus niloticus, Aldroy., Pisc., 610; Risso, Ed. I, pl. x, f. 37. (2) This is probably the special type of the hepsetus of Linnezus. “It is neces- sary to observe that the figure called .Atherina hepsetus, Bl., pl. cccxciii, f. 3, and Syst., pl. xxix, f. 2, is purely ideal. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 173 head broader and shorter, the eye larger; seven spines in the first dorsal, eleven rays in the second, thirteen in the anal; forty-four vertebrz in all. Ath. mochon, Cuv. The form of the Sauclet; but there are seven spines in the first dorsal, fifteen soft rays in the anal, and forty-six vertebrz. , Ath. presbyter, Cuv:; the Prétre, Abusseau, &c.;(1) Duham. Sect. VI, pl. iv, f. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. The 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 vertebra, The Atherine foreign to Europe are numerous.(2) FAMILY XII. GOBIOIDES. The Gobioides are known by the length and tenuity of the dorsal spines. All these fishes have about the same kind of intestines, that is, a large uniform intestinal canal without exea, and no natatory bladder. Buienntivs, Lin. A strongly marked character in the 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 cecum, and there is no natatory bladder. The body is elongated and compressed, and has but a single dorsal almost entirely com- posed of simple but flexible rays. They live in small troops among the rocks on the coast, leaping and playing, and are capable of liv- ing without water for some time. A slimy mucus is smeared over their skin, to which they owe their Greek name of Blennius. Several are viviparous, and there is a tubercle near the anus of all of them (1) So called from the silvery band on the flanks, which has been compared to a stole. (2) Ather. lacunosa, Forst., Bl., Schn., 112, probably the hepsetus, Forsk., 69;— A. endrachtensis, Quoy and Gaym., Freycin., Zool., p. 334;—A. Jacksoniana, 1d. 333;—.A. brasiliensis, Id. 332;—A. neso-galica, Cuv., Lacép. V, pl. xi, f. 1, which is not the same as the .f. pinguis of the text.—A. menidia of Lin., which is not as he supposes the mznidia of Brown, Jam. pl. xlv, f. 3, but is the 2. notata, Mitch. op. cit. I, pl. iv, f. 6; and several others to be described in our Icthyology. 14 PISCES. and in both sexes, which appears destined for the pur Ee of coi- tion. Wedivide them as follows: Biennivus, Cuv. Long, equal, and closely set teeth, forming but a single and regu- lar range in each jaw, terminated behind, in some species, by a longer and hooked tooth. The head is obtuse, the muzzle short, and the fore- * head 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 Bi. ocellaris, Bl. 167, 1. 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, Briinn.; Bl. 167, 2, under the name Bl. gatto- rugine. The dorsal even, four filaments on the brows; a black spot between the fourth and fifth rays. Bl. gattorugine, L.; Will. II, 2, and Bl. 162, 1, 2, under the name of Bi. i MEAG But two filaments; dorsal almost even; marked with clouded and oblique brown bands. Bl. palmicornis, Cuv.; Penn. Cop. Encycl. Method., f. 111, under the name of gattorwgine. ‘The dorsal eyen; the append- age over the eye fimbriated.(1) The sur-ocular fimbriated appendages are hardly visible in others, but they have a membranous prominence on the vertex which dilates and becomes 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 be- hind the eye. Bl. rubriceps, Riss. Three first rays of the dorsal elevated, forming a red point: top of the head of the same colour. Others again—the Puouis,(2) Arted., have neither panache nor crest. One of them, a very small fish, is common on the coast of France. ; Bl. pholis, L. Bl.3 71, 2. Profile vertical; the dorsal slightly emarginate, dotted and marbled with brown and blackish. (1) Add, Bl. cornutus, L.;—Bl. pilicornis, Cuv., pumaru, Marcgr. 165, the second figure, but the first description, &c. (2) Pholis, the Greek name of’ a fish always enveloped in mucus. Add, Bl. ca- vernosus, Schn., 37, 2;—Gadus salarias, Forsk, p. 22. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 175 We distinguish from these Blennies, site so termed, by the name of Myxopgs, 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;(1) and by that of ‘@ Savarias, Cuv. Species whose teeth, also forming a single range and placed close to each other, are compressed laterally, hooked at the end, inex- pressibly slender, and immensely numerous. They move, in the re- cent specimen, like the keys of a harpsichord. Their head, strongly compressed above, is very broad below; their lips are thick and ° fleshy, their profile is completely vertical, and their spirally convo- luted intestines are longer and thinner than in the Common Blenny. The only species known are from the Indian Ocean.(2) We call Cuinus, Cuy.(3) 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 preceding subgenera, their stomach wider and their intes- tines shorter. In some, the first rays of the dorsal form a point separated by an emargination from the rest of the fin;(4) small fimbriated appen- dages 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 ver- tex.(5) In others again, the dorsal is continuous and eyven.(6) (1) The species are new. (2): Sal. quadripinnis, Cuv., which is the Blennius gattorugine, Forsk., p. 23;— Bl. simus, Sujef. Act. Petrop. 1779, part I, pl. vi;—the d/ticus, or Saltator of Commers., Lacép., IJ, p- 479, and several new species. I have every reason to’ believe that to this subgenus we should also refer the Bl. edentulus, Bl., Schn., or the truncatus of Forster, notwithstanding it‘is said to be without teeth. (3) Clinus, the modern Greek term for the Blenny. (4) Bl. mustelaris, L., Mus. Ad. Fred. xxxi, 3;—B. superciliosus, Bl. 168;—Bi. argenteus, Risso. N.B. The Blennie pointillé, Lacép. U, xii, 3, appears to me to be a badly preserved specimen of the swperciliosus. (5). BL. fenestratus, Forst., Bl, Schn., p. 173. (6) Bl. spadiceus, Schn., Seb. III, xxx, f.8;—Bl. acuminatus, 1d, Seb., fis, 1-— Bl. punctatus, Ott., Fabr., Soc. Hist. Nat. Copenh. vol. Il, fasc. II, ph x, f. 3;— 176 PISCES. CrirRRHIBARBA, Cuv. The form of a Clinus; teeth small and crowded, and besides a lit- tle tentaculum over the eye and one in 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 co- lour. Muranoipes, Lacep.—Cernrronotus, Schn. The yentrals smaller than in any of the other Blennies, and fre- quently reduced to a single ray. Their head is very small, and their body elongated like the blade of a sword; a dorsal, all of whose rays are simple and without articulations, 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, 13 Lacep., I, xii, 2. Very abun- dant on the coast of Eiastes there is a suite of ocellated spots along the whole base of the dorsal. OristocnaTuus, Cuv. The form of a true Blenny, and particularly its short snout; dis- tinguished by very large maxillaries prolonged behind into a kind of long, flat moustache; rasp-like teeth in each jaw, the external row strongest; three rays in the ventrals, which are placed exactly under the pectorals. O. Sonnerati, Cuy., is the only species known; it was brought from the Indian Ocean by Sonnerat. Zoarcus, Cuy. We dare not separate these fishes from the Blennies, although they have no spinal ray; for they are provided with their anal tubercle, intestines without ceca, and smooth, oblong body, six rays in the branchiz. There are three rays in the ventral; teeth conical, form- ing 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 depressed. Z. viviparus; Bl. viviparus, L.; Bl., 72. A foot long; fawn coloured, with blackish spots along the dorsal; from the seas Bl. Audifredi, Risso, pl. vi, f. 15;—Bl. capensis, araeaten: Bl. Schn., 175;—Bl. lum- penus, Walb., Arted. Renoy. part III, pl. iii. * e OM 4a Pe w+ he wi ee ~ ACANTHOPTERYGII. ~ 177 of Europe and throughout the North; it has long been recog- nized as viviparous. Z. labrosus, Cuv.; Bl. labrosus, Mitch. op. cit. I,.1,7. A - «much larger American species which is three feet and more in _Tength; it is of an olive colour, sprinkled with brown spots. . ee , : \ o ANARRHICHAS, Lin.(1) “So very similar are these fishes to the Blenny, that I would willingly " _ them Blennies without ventrals. The dorsal fin entirely com- ; 3 osed 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, the anterior ones however are longer and more conical. This ade ‘of dentition furnishes them with powerful weapons, which, added to their great size, render them ferocious and dangerous. _ A. lupus, L. Bl., 74 (The Sea-Wolf), is the most common spe- cies; it inhabits northern seas, and is frequently seen on the coast of Europe; six or seven feet long; brown, with clouded bands of deep brown; the flesh resembling that of an eel. This ‘fish is valuable to the Icelanders, who salt and dry the flesh for . food, employ the skin as shagreen, and the gall as soap.(2) The ee Gosius, 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 infundibuliform. The spines of the dorsal are flexible, the branchial apertures provided with five rays only, and generally but slightly open. Like the Blennies, they can live for some time out of water, their stomach has no cul-de-sac, and the intestinal ca- nal is not furnished with ceca; finally, the males have the same little appendage behind the anus, and some species are known to be viviparous. They are small or moderate sized fishes, which live (1) Anarrhichas, Climber, a name invented by Gesner (Paralipomen, p. 1261,) because this fish is said to climb upon rocks and shoals by the aid of its fins and tail. , (2) The petrified teeth of this fish have been considered as constituting Bufo- nites, but they have neither their form nor tissue. Add the Anarr. minor, Olafsen., Voy. en Isl. Fr. Trans., pl. L- Vou. W.—X J co ¥ m 3 Pa ww ‘ ve ay) b 4 178 ' A PISCEs. ; ». oy . among the rocks near the shore. Most of them have a simple nata-__ & tory bladder. ee ° gy, Gosius, Lacep. and Schn. A. “Se In the true Gobies the ventrals are united throughout their whole” length and even before their base by a traverse, so as to form a ~ concave disk. The body is elongated; head moderate and rounded3 alk 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.(1) i They prefer a clayey bottom, where they excavate canalsin which they pass the winter. In the spring they prepare a nest in some oA spot abounding with fucus, which they afterwards cover with — roots of the Zostera; here the male remains shut up, and awaits the ~ 3 females, who successively arrive to deposit their eggs; he fecun- dates them, and exhibits much care and courage in defending and.” preserving them.(2) ’ ° G. niger, L.; Penn., Brit. Zool. pl. 38. (The 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. ee 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.; Aphia, Penn. pl. $7. (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.(3) G. captto, Cuv.; Gesner, 396. (The Great Goby.) Olive, (1) Bélon and Rondelet have endeavoured to prove that this fish is the Gobius of the ancients, and Artedi pretends to have found in the ocean the badly deter- mined Mediterranean species of those authors. Hence has arisen a most inextrica- ble confusion, to disentangle which, it is necessary to recommence both descrip- tions and figures, a task we shall partially undertake in our Icthyology. (2) These observations were made by the late Olivi, on a Goby of the canals of Venice, 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 yolume of his Voy. to Venice, p. 419. My conclusion is, that the Goby is the Phycis of the ancients, “ the only fish that constructs a nest,” Arist. Hist., lib. VIII, cap. xxx. (3) See the descriptions, but without wholly adopting the nomenclature of Risso, Icht. de Nice, p. 155, et seq. we nd - w od 5 ‘ @ ** J % se é : Ps % 4 % Rye . ¢ om . Ee ae _ ACANTHOPTERYGII. 179 a BS j . ' Be r* er marbled with blackish; lines of blackish points on the fins; the © ® rg? head broad and the cheeks inflated; length one foot and more. " ~ G. cruentatus, Gmel. (The Bloody Goby.) Large; brown, marbled with grey and red; lips and operculum marbled witha 7, é blood-red; red lines on the first dorsal; lines of salient points _ forming an H on the nape of the neck, &c. r Some species are also found in fresh waters such is the God. fluviatilis observed by Bonnelli in a lake in Piedmont, smaller i ' than the niger, 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; ‘ig ' blackish veins on the cheek; a little blackish spot on the base of the pectoral, and another on each side of that of the caudal. Among the Gobies foreign to Europe, we may observe the G. macrocephalus; Cottus macroceph,. Pall., Nov. Act. Petrop., r I, pl. x, f. 4, 5, 6, on account of the extreme length of its head, and the G. lanceolatus, Bl., 33, 1; G. bato, Buch., pl. 37, f. 105 Eleotris lanceolata, Bl., Schn., pl. xv, which we call the Gobius * elongatus, on account of their elongated form and pointed cau- ? dal.(1) The GoxziorpEs, Lacep. ‘ Only differ from the Gobies in the union of their dorsals, which - form butone. Their body is more elongated.(2) The # ™ Tznio1pEs, Lacep. fn 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, as- cends in front of it, both being armed with long hooked teeth; the eye is almost reduced to nothing, and is completely hidden under the skin. The cavity of the mouth is occupied by a fleshy and nearly globular tongue; some small cirri beneath the lower jaw. (1) Among these species foreign to Europe we may unhesitatingly place the Gobius Plumierii, Bl. 175, 3;—G. lagocephalus, Pall. VUI, pl. 11, f. 6, 7;—G@. Bod- darti, Id. Ib. pl. 1, f. 5;—G. ocellaris, Brouss., Dec., pl. 11;—G. bosc., Lacép. I, xvi, 1, or G. viridi-pallidus, Mitch. op. cit. I, 8, or G@. alepidotus, Bl., Schn.;— G. Russelii, Cuv., Russ. 1, 53;—G. giuris, Buchan., pl. xxxiii, f. 13; Nuss. 1, 50;— G. changua, Buch. pl. V, f. 10;—the Bostryche chinois, Lacép. lI, xiv, and many new species to be described in our Hist. des Poissons. (2) Gob. Broussonnet, Lacép. I, pl. xvii, f. 1, (Gob. oblongatus, Schn., add, 548). . ‘La it i 180 : » a : _PISCES. ‘ “# 7 eh, But one Species is known, the 7znioide Hohn date aps” which lives in the mud of ponds, in the East Indies.(1) Bloch, Schn., p. 63, very properly separates from the whi’ ie nus Gobius; the e | P PERIOPHTALMUS, Schn. © we a Where the entire head is scaly; the eyes are placed side by side, and provided at their inferior edge with an eye-lid 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 ~~ toasortofarms. Their gills being even narrower than those of other Gobies, they can live out of water for a still longer period. They are often seen in the Moluccas, where they inhabit, 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 pf the true Gobies.(2) ’ hs The ventrals of others are divided nearly to the base.(3) I would also separate the < fh Exrorris, Gronoy. . 5 Fishes, which, like the Gobies, have flexible spines in the first » _ » g (1) It is the Cepola cxcula, B1., Schn., pl. liv, from a drawing by John; the T'z- niorde hermannien, Lacep. Il, xix, 1, from a Chinese drawing; and the Gobiorde rubicunda, Buch., pl. v, f. 9. e : (2) Gobius Schlosseri, Pall., Spic. VUI, pl. 1, f. 1—4, to which must be added . } the Gob. striatus, Schn., xvi, left among the Godies, though it is hard to say why, since it is a true Periophtalmus. ‘ (3) Gobius Kelreuteri, Pall., Spic. VII, pl. 11, f. 13;—Per. ruber, Schn.;—Per. papilio, Schn., pl. xxv. ‘ h : N.B. Both the Gobies and the Periophtalmi with divided ventrals, according to ~~ the system of M. de Lacépéde, would be Gobiomores, if, together with this division of the ventrals, they had but one dorsal,they would be Gobiomoioides, but the spe-. cies arranged under these two genera haye not all their characters. The Gob. Gro- novii, Gm., Marcgr., 153, does not belong to this family, it is our genus Nomevs of the family of the Scomberovdes. The Gobiomororde pison, Gob. pisonis, Gm., Amore pixuma, Maregr. 166; Lleotris, 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 Grono- vius; by its ventrals it is an Eleotris. Bloch, Ed. Schn., p. 65, separates from the Gobies, and makes the genus Bleo- tris different from that of Gronovius which bears the same name, of those species whose ventrals are mer ely 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 1 leave them among the Gobies. i ; 4h # mA inl? mS hy " J ACANTHOPTERYGII. 181 dorsal and the post-anal appendage, but whose ventrals are entirely distinct, the head obtuse and slightly depressed, the eyes at a dis- tance from each other, and which have six rays in the branchial membrane. Their lateral line is but slightly mar ked, and their vis- cera are similar to those of the Gobies. Most of them inhabit fresh “water, and frequently live in the mud. -. E. dormitatriz, 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.(1) They are also found in Senegal,(2) and in India.(3) 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.(4) “ Catuionymus, Lin.(5) Fishes of this genus have two strongly marked characters, one in their branchiz, which have but a single aperture, consisting of a hole on each side of the nape, and another in their ventrals, which are placed under the throat, are separate, and larger than the pec- torals. Their head is oblong and depressed, their eyes approxi- mated and directed upwards, their intermaxillaries very protractile, and their preopercula elongated behind and terminating in some ‘spines. Their teeth are small and crowded, but there are none in the palate. They are pretty fishes with a smooth skin, whose ante- rior dorsal, supported by a few setaceous rays, is sometimes 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 ceca are wanting. One of them is common in the British Channel, the Call. lyra, L.; Bl. 1613; Lacep. II, x, 1. The first dorsal ele- vated, and the second ray extended into along filament; orange (1) It is the Gobiomore dormeur, Lacep. Add the Guavina, Parr., pl. xxxix, f. 1; a Amore Zuacu, Marcgr. 66;—the Amore pixuma, Id. Ib., or Gob. pisonis, Gm. _ (2) Linfer this from a note attached to a dried skin presented to the Museum by _Adanson, and which is specifically different from the preceding ones. (3) The Gob. strigatus, Brouss. Dec., pl. 1, or Gobiomore taiboa, Lacep. cop. Ency. Method., f. 138;—the Eleotris noir, Quoy and G., op. cit. pl. lx, f. 2, and the Scizeena macrolepidota, Bl. 298, and maculata, Id. 299, 2, which constituted my former genus Prochilus, which must be suppressed. (4) It isan Elevtris and not a Goby. (3) Callionymus (beautiful name), one of the names of the Uranoscopus among the Greeks. Linneus applied it to the present genus. ge alli RS " ; re ‘vie ‘el 182 PISCES. 5 aa ie ce Oy spotted with violet. The Call. dracunculus, Bl. 162, only differs 4 from it in the first dorsal being short and without the filament; P. several authors consider it the female. Some others are found — in the Mediterranean, such as r Call. lacerta, Cuv.; Rond. 304, and not so well, Call. amily » 4 Laroche, Ann. Mus. XIII, xxv, 16. First dorsal low; the se- cond much elevated in the male; silvery points, and white, black- * edged lines on the flanks;,the caudal long and pointed.(1) The ~ Tricuonotus, Schn. Appears to be a mere Callionymus, with a very elongated body, whose single dorsal and anal have acorresponding length. © The two first rays of the dorsal, extended intolong sete, represent the first dorsal of the Common Callionymus. The branchiz, however, are said to be well cleft.(2) o® Comerrnorus, Lacep. First dorsal very low; the muzzle oblong, broad and depressed; » gills much cleft, with seven rays; very long pectorals, and what constitutes their distinguishing character, a total absence of ventrals. But one species is known, from lake Baikal, the Callionymus baicalensis, Pall. Nov. Act. Petrop. I, ix, 1; a foot long, of a soft fatty substance, from which oil is obtained by compression. It is only to be had when dead, after a storm. Piatyrrerus, Kuhl and Van Hassel. , The broad and separated ventrals of a Callionymus; a short de- pressed head; the mouth small, and branchie open; scales broad; the two dorsals short and separated.(3) It is with some hesitation that I close this family with a ge- nus which will one day probably form the type of a separate family; I mean the EE EES eee (1) The Call. diacanthus, Carmich., Lin. Trans. XI, pl. xxvi, does not appear to me to belong to this genus. The Call. indicus, Lin. is nothing more than the Platycephalus spatula, Bl. 424. Add, Call. cithara, Cuv. ;—C. jaculus, and other new Mediterranean species; and of species foreign to Europe, the C. orientalis, Schn., pl. vi; C. ocellatus, Pall. VILL, pl. iv, f. 13;—C. sagitta, Id. Ib., f. 4, 5; and some others to be described in our Icthyology. (2) T'richonotus setigerus, Bl., Schn., pl. 39. (3) Platyptera melanocephala, K., and V. H.; Pl. menec@ala, Id., two fishes ‘from India to be described in our Icthyology. mi te, ‘5 ue f . ¢. a | i ACANTHOPTERYGII. 183 Mi ‘ Cuirus, Stell.—Laprax, 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, sim- ilar to the lateral line, or, as it were, in several lateral lines. There are no cxca to the intestines, and they frequently have an appendage on the eye-brow, as is the case with certain Blennies, but their ven- trals consist of five soft rays, as usual. The species known are from the sea of Kamschatka.(1) FAMILY XIII. PECTORALES PEDICULATI. This family consists of certain Acanthopterygii whose car- pal bones are elongated so as to form a sort of arm, which sup- ports their pectorals. It comprises two genera, which are closely approximated although authors have generally placed them at a distance from each other, and which are closely al- lied to the Gobioides. Lopuius, Lin.(2) The general character of this genus, independently of the semi- cartilaginous skeleton and the naked skin, consists in the pectorals being supported by 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 branchiostegous 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. (1) Labrax lagocephalus;—L. decagrammus;—L. swperciliosus;—L. monoptery- gius;—L, octogrammus;—L: hexagrammus; all described and figured by Pallas, Mem. Acad. Petersb. vol. XI, 1810. (2) Lophius, a name made by Artedi, from acgrz (pinna), on account of the crests of their head. The ancients called them Berpayor, and Rana or Frog. . + ne Cae aS ee 4 at my 184 PISCES. ee Lopuivus, Cuv. ; r. x 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 se- parated before and movable 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 branchiz on each side. It is asserted that these fishes live in the mud; where, by agi- tating the rays of their head, they attract smaller ones, who take ~ xy ‘ 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.(1) They have two very short ceca, near the origin of the intestine, but no natatory bladder. L.- piscatorius, L.; Bl., 87; Sea-Devil; Galanga, &c. (The Angler.) A large fish, of from four to five feet in length, inha- biting the seas of Europe, whose hideous figure has rendered it celebrated. L. parvipinnis, Cuv. Avery similar species that is found in the same seas; its second dorsal however is lower, and it has only twenty-five vertebra, while the piscatorius has thirty.(2) | CurronEecTES.—ANTENNARIUS, Commers. Four rays on the head, as in Lophius; the first of which is slen- der, and frequently terminating in a tuft; the succeeding ones, aug- mented by a membrane, are sometimes much enlarged, and at others united into afin. The body and head are compressed; the mouth cleft vertically: the only opening of the branchiz, which are furnish- ed with four rays, is a canal and a small hole behind the pectoral; the dorsal occupies nearly the whole length of the back. The en- tire body is frequently provided with cutaneous appendages; there » ; (1) Geoff., Ann. du Mus., X, p. 180. (2) We are ignorant whether it is the Lophias budecassa of M. Spinola and Risso or not, that species being described as more fawn-coloured and varied than the common one. Add the Loph. setigerus, Vahl, Soc. Hist. Nat. Copenh. IV, p. 215, and pl. i i f. 5 and 6, improperly named viviparus by BI., Syst., pl. xxxii. N.B. The Baudroye Ferguson, Lacep-, Phil. Trans. LIU, xiii; the Lophius cornu- bicus of Sh., Borlase, Corn., xxvii, 6; the L. barbatus, Gmel., Act. Stockh., 1779, fasc. III, pl. iv, are merely altered specimens of the piscatorius; the L. monoptery- gius, Shaw, Nat. Misc., 202 and 203, is a Torpedo disfigured by the stuffer. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 185 are four branchiz; the natatory bladder is large, and the intestine moderate, and without ceca. These fishes, by filling their enor- mous 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 several of them were confounded by Linnzus under the name of Lophius histrio.(1) 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.(2) Ma true, Cuv., The head excessively enlarged and flattened, chiefly by the pro- jection and volume of the suboperculum; the eyes forwards; the snout salient, like a small horn; the mouth, beneath the snout, moderate and protractile; the branchiz supported by six or seven rays, and opening on the dorsal surface by a hole above each pectoral; a sin- gle, small, and soft dorsal; the body studded with osseous tubercles, with cirri the whole length of its sides; but there are no free rays on the head. The ceca and natatory bladder are wanting.(3) Batracuus, Bl. Schn.—Barracoipes, Lac.(4) The head horizontally flattened, broader than the body; the mouth (1) Species. Chiron. pictus, Cuv., or Lophius histrio-pictus, Bl., Schn., 142, or Mem. Mus. II, xvi, 1;—Ch. tumidus, Cuv., Mus. Ad. Fred., p. 56;—Ch. levigatus, Cuy., or L. gibbus, Mitch. op. cit. I, vi, 9;—Ch. marmoratus, or L. Hist. Marm., Bl, Schn., 142, Klein, Misc., Ill, iii, 4, or LZ. raninus, Tiles., Mem. Nat. Mosc., Il, xvi;—Ch. hispidus, Bl., Schn. 143, Mém. Mus., II, xvii, 2;—Ch. scaber, Ib., XVI, 2, or Guaperva, Marcgr., 150 (but not the figure), L. Aistrio, Bl. pl. cxi;— Ch. biocellatus, Cuy., Mém. Mus. MI, xvii, 3;—Ch. ocellatus, or L. histr. ocell.,; Bl., Schn., 143, Parra, 1;—Ch. variegatus, or L. chironecte, Lacép., 1, xiv, 2, or L. pic- tus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. V, part I, pl. clxv;—Ch. furcipilis, Cuv., Mém. Mus. II, xvii, 1; Laet., Ind. Occ., 574, a figure given for the guaperva, Marcgr. 150;— Ch. nummifer, Cuv., Mém. Mus. If, xvii, 4;—Ch. Commersonii, Cuy., Lacép. I, xiv, 3, and very badly, Ren., I, xlili, 212;—Ch. tuberosus, Cuv. (2) Ch. punctatus, Cuv., Mém. Mus. III, xviii, 2, and Lacép. Ann. Mus. IY, ly, 3;—Ch. unipinnis, Cuv., Mem. Mus. III, xviii, 3, Lacep. Ann. Mus. III, xviii, 4. (3) Lophius vespertilio, L., Bl., 110;—Malth. nasuta, Cuv., Seb. I, lxxiv, 2;—M. notata, Cuv.;—M. angusta, Cuv., the skeleton of which is found in Rosenthal, Pl. Icthy., t. XIX, 2;—M. truncata, Cuv.;—M. stellata, Cuv., or Lophius stellatus, Vahl., Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Copenh., LV, pl. iii, f. 3, 4, the same as the Lophie faujas, Lacép., I, xi, 2, 3, and the Lophius ruber, Til., Krusenstein’s Voy., LXI. (4) Barpaxoc, frog, from their broad head. Voit. IL.—Y 186 PISCES. well cleft; operculum and suboperculum spinous; six branchial rays; the ventrals narrow, 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 dissected present a stomach resembling an oblong sac, and short intestines, but there is no cecum. The fore- part of the natatory. bladder is deeply bifurcated. They keep them- selves hidden in the sand, to surprize their prey, like the Lophius, &c.; the wounds inflicted by their spines are reputed dangerous. They are found in both oceans. . Some of them have a smooth and fungous skin and a cutaneous appendage over the eye.(1) Others are covered with scales, and have no appendage over the eye.(2) We might distinguish those in which the scales and cirri are wanting, but which have lines of pores pierced in the skin,(3) and hooked teeth in the lower jaw. FAMILY XIV. LABROIDES. This family 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 pha- ryngeals, two upper ones attached to the cranium, and a large lower one, all three armed with teeth, now en pavé and then (1) Batr. tau, (Gadus tau, L.), or Lophius bufo, Mitch., or Batrachoide verneul, Lesueur, Mém. Mus., V, xvii;—the Batr. varié, Id. Ac. Nat.Sc. Phil.;—Batr. grunni- ens (Cottus grunniens, L.), Bl., 179, Seb. II, xxiii, 4;—Batr. gangene, Buch., XIV, 8;—Battr. dubius, Cuv., or L. dubius, J. White, 265, Nieuhof, Ap., Will., Ap. IV, 1;—Batr. 4-spinis, Cuv., or Batr. diemensis, Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. (2) Batr. surinamensis, Bl., Schn., pl. vii, givenas the Tau, Lacép., LU, xii, 1;— B. conspicillum, Cuv., or the pretended Batr. tau, Bl., pl. Ixvii, f. 2 and 3. (3) Bat. porosissimus, Cuv., Niqui, Marcgr., 178, or the second /Viqui of Pison, 295. N.B. The first Wigui of Pison, 294, is a badly copied figure from the col- lection called Mentzel’s, to which the engraver has added scales. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 187 pointed or Jaminiform, but generally stronger than usual; an intestinal canal either without cca, or with two very small ones, and a strong natatory bladder. Lasrus, Lin. 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 branchiz with five rays; their co- nical maxillary teeth, the middle and anterior of which are the longest, and their cylindrical and blunt pharyngeal teeth arranged en pavé, the upper 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 continuous with an intestine without ceca, ‘which after two inflexions, terminates in a large rectum. They have a single and strong natatory bladder. Lasrus, properly so called. 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 be clearly dis- tin guished. (1) LZ. maculatus; Duham. Sect. IV, pl. ii, f. 1; Lab. maculatus, Bl. 284?; Lab. bergilta, Ascan. Ic. I. From afoot 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.(2) 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.(3) Cee ee ee ee ne ee ae (1) With respect to these fishes we can neither trust to the figures of Bloch nor to the descriptions of Gmelin. (2) The Vielle tachetée was indicated by Lacép., under the name of Labreneus- trien. 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 La- brus tinca, Shaw, Nat. Misc., 426, and Gen. Zool., IV, pl. ii, p. 499, isa beautiful variety, red spotted with white, but is not the tinca of Lin.; the Lab. ballan, Penn., 44, cop. Encycl., 400, is the fawn coloured variety; the LZ. comber, Penn., XLII, cop. Encycl., 405, is a red variety, with a suite of white spots along the flank. ! (3) The only good drawing of this fish is that of Pennant; I suspect the Labr. 188 PISCES. LL. carneus, B).; 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 distinct; scattered spots sometimes resembling mother of pearl, some- times brown; frequently a nacred band along the flank.(1) 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 Mediterra- nean.(2) | Cueiuinus, Lacep. Differs 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 some- what envelope the base of the caudal. They are beautiful fishes from the Indian Ocean.(3) LacHNOLAIMUS, Cuv. The general characters of a true Labrus, but the pharyngeals vetula, Bl., 293, to be an altered figure of the same; it is, in the nuptial season, the Turdus perbelle pictus, of Willugh., 322, and the Sparus formosus, Shaw, Nat. Misc. (1) Iam of the opinion that the Lab. viridis andthe Lab. luscus, Lin., are varie- ties of this turdus, which is subject to great changes of colour. The Lab, viridis, BI., 282, is a Julis, Cuv., and differs from that of Linneus. (2) Add: Lab. americanus, Bl., Schn., or Tautoga, Mitch., pl. iii, 1;—L. herissé, Lacép., Il, xx, 1;—L. large queue, Id., U1, ix, 3;—L. deux croissants, 1d., TW, xxxil, 2;—L. Diane, Id., II, 1, N.B. The Cheil. auratus, Commers., Lacép., IV, 433, or the Labrus inermis, of Forsk, (ZL. Hassec, Lacép.) and Voy. Freycin., Zool., pl. 54, No. 2, is merely a very slender Labrus with flexible dorsal spines. (3) The Cheiline trilobé, Lacép. Il, xxxi, 3, the same as the Sparus chlorurus, B1., 260;—Sparus radiatus, Bl., Schn., 56;—Sparus fasciatus, Bl., 257, which is also the Labre ennéacanthe, Lacép., UI, p. 490;—Labrus fasciatus, Bl., 290, which is also the Labre malapteronote, Lacép., 111, xxxi, 1;the figure to which should be referred the description of the Labre fuligineua, Id. II, p. 493, but not the fig., which is that of the Mesoprion uninotatus;—Labrus melagaster, ¥)., 296, 1;—L. di- agramme, Lacép., I, 1, 2;—L. lunula, Forsk. N.B. The Labrus scarus, L., (Cheiline scare, Lacép.) was merely established by Artedi and Linnzus on an equi- vocal description of Belon, Aquat., lat. ed. p. 239, and Obs. p. 21, where it is im- possible 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 Be- lon, refer to a totally different fish of the genus Sparus. The true Scarus of the Greeks is another fish, as we shall soon see. v8 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 189 have no teeth en pavé, 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.(1) Juuis, Cuv. The head entirely smooth and without scales; the lateral line forming an elbow opposite the end of the dorsal. Some species are found in the seas of Europe. J. vulgaris; Labius julis, L., Bl. 287, f. 1. A small fish re- markable for its beautiful violet hue, relieved on each side bya 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. 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. J. tursica, Risso. 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 Mediterranean. 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;(2) the first dorsal rays of others(3) are drawn out into filaments. (1) Lachnolaimus suillus, Cuv.; Catesb., Il, xv;—JZ. caninus, Cuy., Parra, pl. Jil, fe 2) (2) Species with a round or truncated tail; Labre parterre, Lacép., Ill, xxix, 2, the same as the Hehiquier, Id., p. 493;—L. trilobé, Id. I, iv, 3;—L. teinioure, Lac., III, xxix, 1, the same as his Spare hémisphére, U1, xv, 3, and probably as his Spare brachion, WW, xviii, 3;—L. ceintwre, 1d., WW, xxviii, 1;—Labrus brasilien- sis, Bl., 280;—L. macrolepidotus, Bl., 284, 2;—L. guitatus, Bl., 287, 9;—L. cyano- cephalus, B1., 286;—L. malapterus, Bl., 285;—L. chloropterus, Bl., 288;—L. bivitta- tus, 284, 1;—Julis crotaphus, Cuy., Parra, XXXVII, 1;—ZL. albovittatus, Kehlr., Noy. Com. Pet. IX, 458, and Encycl., 399;—Z. mola, Cuv., Russ., U, 120:—Z, margaritiferus, Cuv., or Gir. Labiche, Voy. Freycin. Zool. pl. f. 3;—L. ornatus, Carmich. Lin. Trans. XII, xxvii. (3) The Girelle Gaymard, Voy. Freycin., pl. liv, which is also the Sparus eretus, Forst., and Renard, part. I, pl. ii, No. 11, and part I, 160. N.B. The Coris of M. de Lacépede 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 preoper- culum. The Coris angulé, Il, iy, 2, appears to be the Labrus malapterus, and the 190 PISCES. I Others again have a crescent-shaped or bifurcated tail.(1) ANAMPSES, Cuv. * All the characters of a Julis, 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.(2) 4 CRENILABRUS, Cuv. ° We separate these fishes from the Lutjanus of Bloch, in order to arrange them in their proper place. They have all the characters, external and internal, of a true Labrus, and only differ in the deata- tion of the border of their preoperculum. Some of them are taken in the northern seas; such as the Lutjanus rupestris, Bl. 250; fawn coloured, with clouded, black- ish vertical bands. JLutjanus norvegicus, Id., 256; brownish, irregularly spotted and marbled with deep brown. Labrus me- lops; orange, spotted with blue; a black spot behind the eye; pl. xxi, f. 1. Labrus exoletus, or L. palloni, Risso; remarkable for the five spines of its anal.(3) The Mediterranean produces a great number which are de- corated with the most beautiful colours; the most splendid is the Labrus lapina, Forsk.; silvery, with three broad longitudi- nal bands formed of verniihGt dots, yellow pectorals, the ven- trals blue, &c.(4) They abound also in the seas of hot cli- Coris aigrette, V1, iv, 1, must be closely allied to the Girelle Gaymard. M. de La- cépede has also named Hologymnoses some of these fishes, in which the seales 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 Lacép., Ill, pl. 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, pl. vi, f.1; the Mnnelé, Ib., pl. xxviii, and the Cerclé, which at least are closely allied to it. (1) Species with crescent-shaped or forked tails: Labre hébratque, Lacep. I, xxix, 3;—Labrus bifasciatus, Bl. 283;—L. lunaris, L., Gron., Mus., II, vi, 2, cop. Encycl., 196;--Z. dunaris, Bl., 281, which is different and may possibly be nothing more than an altered Julis turcica;—L. viridis, B1.., 282;—L. brasiliensis, Bl., 280; Julis ceeruleocephalus, Cuy., or Girelle Duperrey, Voy. Freycin. Zool. pl. f. 333;— L. argenté, Lac., IU, xviii. N.B. The Scarus gallus, Forsk., is probably the same as the Lab. lunaris. (2) Labrus tetrodon, Bl., Schn., 263;—Anampses Cuvieri, Quoy and Gaym., Voy. Freycin., Zool., pl. lv, f. 1. (3) Add, Lab. gibbus, Penn., xlvi, copied Encycl., 403;—Lutj. virescens, BI:, 254, 1 (4) Risso describes several in his first edition under the name of Lufjanus; in the second he adopts our genus Crenriaprvs, and carries the number of species « ACANTHOPTERYGII. 191 mates,(1) and several species hitherto left among the Labri, should be placed here. Coricus, Cuv. All the characters of a Crenilabrus; in addition to which, the mouth is nearly as protractile as that of an Epibulus. The species known are small, and from the Mediterranean.(2) We must remove the following fishes from the genus Sparus, in or- der to place them near Coricus or Cheilinus. Eprputus, Cuv. 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 em- ploy this artifice to capture the small fry which pass within reach of this singular instruments; 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 conicalteeth in front of each jaw, followed by smaller bluntones; 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, pl. v, 1, of a reddish colour. From the In- dian Ocean. Cuiepricus, Cuv. 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 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, &c. The Lab. venosus, Brunn.;—L. fuscus, Brunn.;—L. unimaculatus, Brunn. ;—Lutjanus rostratus, Bl., 254, 2, perhaps the Cr. tinca, Risso;—Lab. 5-ma- culatus, Bl., 291, 2, is the Crenil. Roissal, Risso;—Lwutj. bidens, Bl., 251, 1;—Lab. mediterraneus, Grunn.;—Lab. rubens, Brunn.;—Lab. perca, Brunn.;—Lab: spala- tensis, Br. ;—Lab. tinca, Brunn.;—Lab. ocellatus, Forsk., or olivaceus, Brunn., &c. (1) 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, pl. MI, f. 1.—Add, Ladjanus notatus, Bl., 251, 2;—L. violaceus, or L. Linkii, Bl., 252;—L. virescens, Bl. 254, 1;—Lab. burgal, Schepp., or L. chogset, Mitch., II, 2?—L. chrysops, BL, 248. (2) The Lutjanus viridens, and the L. Lamarkii, Riss., first edition. In the second he adopts this subgenus and adds to it a Coricus rubescens. we 192 PISCES. barely perceptible to the touch; the body 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. pl. xxi, f. 1. The only species known; of a purple red. From the Antilles. Gomprnuosus, Lacep.—Exors, Commers. Labroides, with an entirely smooth head, as in Julis; but owing to the prolongation of the intermaxillaries and maxillaries, 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.(1) They are taken in the Indian Ocean, and the flesh of certain species is held in the highest estimation. (2) Xiricutuys, Cuv. These fishes resemble a Labrus as to form, but are much com- pressed; the front descends suddenly towards the mouth ina tren- chant and almost vertical line, formed by the ethmoid and the ascend- ing branches of the intermaxillaries. 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 intestinal canal is continuous with two flex- ures without czca; 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 Coryphenz, from which they greatly differ, both internally and externally. They approxi- mate most to Labrus, only differing in the profile of the head.(3) The greater number have a naked head. Such is X. novacula; Coryphzna novacula, L.; Rondel.; 146, Salv. 117. Red, variously striped with blue. The flesh is esteemed.(4) (1) Gomphosus viridis, Cuv., or G. Lacépede, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freycin. Zool. pl. lv, f. 2;—G. ceruleus, Lacép. Il, pl. v, f. 1, or Acarawna longirostris, Sevastianof, Noy. Act. Petrop. xiii, t- XI;—G. variegatus, Lacép., Toy 2: . Gomphosus, from youdos, cuneus, clayus. (2) Renard, Poissons de la mer des Indes, part H, pl. xii, f. 109. Commerson, however, says that the ceruleus is but indifferent food.” (3) The sharp edge of the head of the Coryphenz is owing to the interparietal crest; their scales are small and soft; their ceca numerous. See Mém. du Mus., II, 324. (4) The Coryph. lineolata, Rafin., Caratt., 33, does not differ from the novacula; but the Novacula coryphena, of Risso, is nothing more than the Centrolophus. The Coryph. cerulea, Bl., 176, is a Scarus.—Add, Cor. psitiacus, L., and some new species. ’ m ACANTHOPTERYGII. 193 _ Some of them have a scaly cheek,(1) and others are distinguished by small scales.(2) Curomis, Cuv.(3) The lips, protractile intermaxillaries, pharyngeals, dorsal filaments, and port of a Labrus; but the teeth of the pharynx and jaws resem- ble 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 fre- quently extended into long threads; the lateral line is interrupted; the stomach forms a cul-de-sac, but has no cxca. : C. vulgaris; Sparus chromis, L. Rondel., 152. The Common or’ Black Coracinus of the ancients. A small chesnut-brown fish, taken by thousands in the Mediterranean. _ C. niloticus; Lab. niloticus, Hasselq., 346; Sonnini, pl. xxvii, f. 1; the White, or Egyptian Coracinus of the ancients.(4) Found in the Nile; it is two feet long, and is considered the best fish of Egypt. Cyouta, BI. Schn. Teeth, small and crowded, forming a broad band, and differing from Chromis in this, as well as in the greater elongation of the body. (5) (1) Coryphena pentadactyla, Bl. 173, or Blennius maculis, 5, &c. Ankarstrom, Stockh. Mem. pl. iii, f. 2. Linnzus has confounded it with the five-toed fish of Nieuhof, Willbughb, App. pl. viii, f- 2, which is a mere Pilot-fish, thereby induc- ing M. de Lacépede to make his genus Hemipteronotus of it, whose characters by no means correspond to this Xirichthys. (2) Rason l’écluse, Quoy and Gaym. Voy. Freycin., Zool., pl. Ixy, f. 1. (3) Xpopess, pees, xpeun, Greek names of an unascertained fish. (4) Add, Labrus punctatus, Bi., 295, 1;—Labre filamenteux, Lac., U1, xviii, 2;— Lab. 15-épines, ¥d., 1b. XXV, 1;—Sparus surinamensis, Bl., 277, 2;—Chetodon suratensis, Bl., 217?;—Perca bimaculata, Bl., 310, 1. (3) I strike out many species from the genus Cycuza as constituted by Bloch, but I leave there, C. saxatilis, Bl., 309;—C. ocellaris, Bl., Schn. pl. Ixvi;—C. ar- gus, Valenc., App. Humb. Obs. Zool. tom. I, p. 109;—perhaps the C. brasiliensis, BL, 310, 2, and new species. Lut the C. erythrura, Bl., 261, and the C. argyrea, are Gennes; the C. cuning, a Cmsio; the C. brama, a Canruanvs; the C. macroph- talma, Bl., 268, the C. japonica, Id., 277, 1, the C. cynodon, Id., 278, 1, belong to Denrex, the C. surinamensis, Id., 277, 2, andthe C. bimaculata, Id., 310, 1, to Curomis, the C, guttata, 1., 312, the C. maculata, Id., 313, the C. punctata, Id., 314, to Szrranvs, or, according to the system of Bloch, to Bonianus. The C. pelagica is the’ Caranxomone of Lacép. or the Coryphena pelagica, L.. It is eas- ily seen that Bloch was quite as unfortunate in the construction of his genus Cycuna, as in that of GrammisTes. The Hiatule would be Labri without an anal fin; buta single species, however, Vou, IL.—Z 194 3 PISCES. PLEstops, Cuy. A Chromis with a compressed head, approximated eyes, and ex- tremely long ventrals. Maracantuus, Cuv. 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 opercu- lum 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 inha- bitants Vive; it is the Coryphene Plumier, Lacep., IV, viii, 15 yellowish, irregularly and transversely streaked with violet;(1) a crescent-shaped tail. Scarus, Lin, A genus of fishes with remarkable jaws (that is, their intermaxil- lary and premandibular bones), which are convex, rounded, and fur- nished with teeth, arranged like scales upon their edge, and upon their anterior surface; these teeth succeed each other from behind: » forwards, so that those of the base are the newest, and in time form a row on the edge. Naturalists have erroneously thought that the bone itself was naked; besides, during the life of the fish, its jaws are covered by fleshy lips, but there is no double one adhering to the suborbital. They have the oblong form of a Labrus, large scales, and an interrupted lateral line; they have three pharyngeal plates, two above and one below, furnished with teeth as in a Labrus; but these teeth are transverse blades, and not like rounded paving stones. A species, blue or red, according to the season, is found in the Archipelago, which is the Scarus creticus, Aldroy. , Pisc., p- 8; and which late researches have convinced me is the Scarus, so highly celebrated among the ancients; the same that Eli- is quoted, (from Carolina, ) and that merely from a note by Garden, which requires confirmation (Labrus hiatula, L.). It is not i / to imagine why Bloch, Schn., p. 481, placed it in Trachypterus. (1) N.B. This fig. taken from Plumier, was altered by Bloch to represent his Coryphena Plumieri, pl. 175. Lacépede gives more exact one. It is also the Matejuelo blanco of Parra, XII, 1, or the Sparus oblongus, Bl., Sclin., 283. Add the Tubleu of the Isle of France, or Labre large raie, Lacép. Ill, xxviii, 2, the description of which is found, tome IV, p. 204, under the name of T'xnianote large raie. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 195 pertius 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.(1) Numerous species are found in the seas of hot climates. The form of their jaws and the splendour of their colours have caused them to receive the vulgar appellation of Parrot-fishes. Some of them have a crescent-shaped tail,(2) and of these a few with a singularly gibbous forehead.(3) In others it is truncated.(4) We separate from Scarus the Catuiopon, Cuv. Where the latter teeth of the upper jaw are separate and pointed, and where there is an inner range of much smaller ones on the same;(5) and the Opax, Cuyv. Which approaches a true Labrus in the inflated lips and continu- ous lateral line; the jaws, composed like those of a Scarus, are how- ever flat and not gibbous, and are covered by the lips; the pharyn- geal teeth are en pavés, as in Labrus.(6) FAMILY XV. FISTULARID&. The fishes of this family are characterized by a long tube, (1) N.B. It is not the Sc. cretensis, Bl. 228. (2) Scarus coccineus, Bl., Schn., Parra, XXVIII, 2, which is the Sparus abild- gardii, Bl., 259, and the Spare rougeor, Lacép., Ul, xxxiii, 3;—the Great Scarus with blue jaws, Se. guacamaia, Cuy., Parra, XXV1;—the Se. Catesby, Lacép., Ca- tesb., II, xxix;—the Se. bridé, Lacép., IV, 1, 2;—Sce. chrysopterus, Bl., Schn., 57;— Sc. capitaneus, Cuv-, which is the Sc. ennéacanthe, Lacép., IV, p. 6, and his Se. denticulé, id., p. 12 and pl. 1, f. 1, and of which he gives a description annexed to the Se. chadri. (3) Sc. loro, B1., Schn., Parra, XX VII, 1;—Sce. ceruleus, Bl., Schn., Parra, XX VII, 2, and Catesb., II, xiii, which is alsothe Coryphena cerulea, Bl., 176, and what is more extraordinary the Spare holocyanose, Lacép., II, xxxiii, 2 and IV, p. 441, derives its origin from the same drawing of Plumier as this figure of Bloch. (4) Se. vetula, Bl., Schn., Parra, XX VII, 1;—Sc. teniopterus, Desmarest;—Sce. chloris, Parr., XX VIII, 3;—Sc. psittacus, Forsk. ;—Sce. viridis, Bl. (5) Scarus spinidens, Quoy and Gaym., Zool. Voy. Freycin., p. 289, and some new species. ; (6) Scarus pullus, Forster, Bl., Schn., 288. 196 PISCES. in the fore-part of the cranium, formed by the prolongation of the ethmoid, vomer, preopercula, interopercula, pterygoi- dals and tympanals, and at the extremity of which is the mouth, composed as usual of the intermaxillaries, maxillaries, and the palatine and mandibulary bones. Their intestine has neither great inequalities nor many folds, and their ribs are short or wanting. Some of them, the Fistularie, have a cylindrical body; in others, the Centrisci, it is oval and compressed. Fistunarta, Lin. The name of these fishes, in particular, is derived from the tube common to the whole family. The jaws are at its extremity, slightly cleft in a nearly horizontal direction. This head, thus elongated, constitutes the third or fourth of the total length of the body, which is itself long and thin. There are six or seven rays in the branchiz, and some bony appendages extend behind the head, upon the ante- rior part of the body, which they strengthen more or less. The dor- sal is opposite to the anal; the stomach, resembling a fleshy tube, is continued in a straight canal, without duplicatures, to the commence- ment of which are attached two ceca. In FisTuLaria, properly so called, Or the Fisrutarra, Lacep., there is but a single dorsal, most of which, as well as of the anal, is composed of simple rays. The in- termaxillaries 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 hemi- spheres.(1) In the : Avtostomus, Lacep.(2) The dorsal is preceded by several free spines, and the jaws are with- out teeth; the very scaly and less slender body is widened and com- pressed between the dorsal and the anal, and followed by a short and (1) Fistwlaria tabacaria, Bl., 387, 1;—Fist. serrata, \d., Ib., 2, are from Amer- . ica, Marcgr., 148, Catesb:, If, xvii;—Fisé. immaculata, Commers., J. White, p- 296, f. 2, is from the Indian Ocean. (2) Aulostomus, from avré¢ and séue. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 197 very small tail, terminated by a common fin. The tube of the snout is shorter, thicker, and compressed; natatory bladder very large. But a single species is known; from the Indian Ocean.(1) Centriscus, Lin.(2) In addition to the tubular snout of the family, the fishes of this genus have an oval or oblong (not elongated) body, compressed on the side, and trenchant beneath; branchize composed of but two or three slender rays; a first spinal dorsal and small ventrals behind the pectorals. The mouth is very small, and cleft obliquely; the intes- tine without cxca, doubled three or four times, and the natatory bladder considerable. . In Crntriscus, 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.; BI., 123.(3) A very common species in the Mediterranean, but a few inches long and of a silvery colour. AmpuHisiLE, Klein. The back mailed with broad scaly plates, of which the anterior spine of the first dorsal seems to be a continuation. Some of them even have other scaly plates 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. Others are intermediate between this disposition and that of acom- mon Centriscus. Their cuirass covers but the half of the back,— . Centriscus velitaris, Pall., Spic., VII, iv, 8. Both these species are from the Indian Ocean, * (1) Fistularia chinensis, 21., 388. (2) Centriscus, from xevres. {3) Itis also the St/urus cornutus, Forsk., the Macroramphose, Lac. ° 198 PISCES. . The second division of common fishes, or that of the Mala- copterygii, contains three orders, characterized by the posi- tion of the ventrals or by their absence. ORDER II. MALACOPTERYGIT ABDOMINALES. In this order the ventrals are suspended to the under part of the abdomen and behind the pectorals, without being at- tached 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. FAMILY I. CIPRINID A. The Ciprinide are recognized by the slightly cleft mouth ; the weak jaws, generally edentated, and whose border is formed by the intermaxillaries; by the deeply dentated pha- ryngeals which compose 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 cecal appendages to their pylorus. Of all fishes they are the least carnivorous. Cyprinus, Lin. A very numerous and natural genus, easily distinguished by the small mouth, edentated jaws, and the three flat rays of the branchiz. The 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, con- sisting of stout teeth attached to the inferior pharyngeals, 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 MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES. 199 sphenoid. These fishes have but one dorsal, and their body is co- vered 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 ooze. The stomach is continuous with a short intestine which has no cecum, 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. Ori- ginally 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 generally esteemed. (1) . 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 & miroir, Carpe 4 cuir, &c.,—Cy- prinus rex cyprinorum, Bl., 17. In others the cirri are deficient. Such, in Europe, are, Cyp. carassius, L., Bl., XI. The body elevated; lateral line straight; head small; caudal truncated. Common in the north of Europe. Cyp. gibelio, Gans: Bl., 12. The body somewhat less elevated; lateral line arcuated Helow; 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 Rigen (1) The Cyprini, nne-Caroline, Lacép., V, xviii, 1, rouge-brun, Id. Ib., XVI, 1, mordoré, Ib., 2, vert-violet, Ib., 3, known merely from Chinese paintings, closely approach 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 drawings: it would not be safe, however, to consider them as species, upon these documents only. 200 _ PISCES. where it has been excessively multiplied, on account of the splen- dour and variety of its colours. Cyp. auratus, L., Bl., 93. (The Golden Carp.) 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 the three colours. Individuals are found without a dorsal, others have a very small one; the caudal of a third is very large and is di- vided into three or four lobes; the eyes of a fourth are exces- sively distended; all these accidental changes, which are the result of domestication, may be variously combined.(1) To this group also belongs the smallest of the European Carps, Cypr. amarus, Bl., VIII, 3; La Bouviére, or Péteuse. An inch long; greenish above; of a fine pale yellow beneath; in the spawning season, in April, there is a steel-blue line on each side of the tail; the second dorsal ray forms a tolerably rigid spine. Barsus, Cuv. 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 Barbel.) Known by its oblong: head; common in clear streams and fish- ponds, where it is sometimes found ten feet in length. B. caninus, Bonnelli; B. plebeius, Val., B. eques, Id. (2), (1) Such are the Cypr. macrophtalmus, Bl., 410, or the gros yeur, Lacép., V, xviii, 2, the C. quatre lobes, Lacép., Ib., 3, and the varieties of the Gold-fish, BI. 93,94, &c. See Collection des Dorades de la Chine, Sauvigny et Martinet. Add: Cypr., devarid., Buch., pl. vi, f. 94;—C- catla, Id., pl. xiii, f. 81. (2) Add the Barbels of the Caspian sea: Cyp. mursa, Guldenst., Nov. Comm. Petrop., XVII, pl. 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., pl. 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, pl. 11; f.33;—C. cocsa, Id., pl. iii, f. 77;—C. Daniconi‘us, Id. XV, 89;— C. kunama, Russ., 204;—C. morula, Buch., XVIII, 91;—C. gonius, Ib., 1V, 82;— C. Rohita, 1b., XXXVI, 85, and several others to be described in our Icthyology; they are also found 3 in America. MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES. 201 . neighbouring species from Italy with a weaker spine, but which differ from the Gudgeons in their four cirri. > Gosio, Cuv. The Gudgeons have a short dorsal and anal, without spines and “cirri. A species dotted with brown,—Cyp. gobio, L., BL., 8, f. 2, » which, notwithstanding its smallness, is highly esteemed, is found in abundance in the rivers of France; it seldom exceeds eight inches in length.(1) Tinca, Cuv. The Tenches present all the characters of a Gobio; very small scales, the cirri also small. There is one of these fishes, Cyp. tinca, L., Bl., 14, short and thick, of a yellowish brown, found in France, which is only eatable when taken in certain streams, and is sometimes of a fine golden colour,—Cypr. tinca auratus, Bl., 25. It prefers stagnant waters. Crrruinus, Cuv. The dorsal larger than that of a Gobio; the cirri on the middle of the upper lip.(2) Apramis, Cuv. Neither spines nor cirri; the dorsal short and placed behind the wentrals; along 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. 2. bliccas 8. bliccas C. latus, Gm., Bl., 10; La Bordeliére. Pectorals and ventrals reddish; twenty-four rays in the anal; is not much esteemed, being chiefly used to feed other fishes in ponds.(3) (1) Add Cyp. capoeta, Guldenst., Noy. Com. Petrop., XVI, pl. xviii, f. 12;— C. curmuca, Buch. Tray. to the Mysore, III, pl. xxx;—C. bendelesis, 1d., tb., pl., XXX. (2) Cyp. cirrhosus, Bl., 411;—C. mrigala, Buch., pl. vi, f. 79;—C. nandina, Id., Vill, 84? (3) Add three fishes which ascend the tributaries of the Baltic: the C. ballerus. BI., 9, the C. vimba, L., Bl, 4, and the C. Buggenhagii, Bl. 95; and of foreign species, C. cotis, Buch., pl. xxxix, f. 93. Vien.” Ths A 202 PISCES, _ . Laseo, Cuv. uh : . * A long dorsal, as in the Carp properly so called, but neither spines nor cirri; remarkably thick, fleshy lips, frequently crenated. ' They are all foreign to Europe.(1) ‘ Carostomus, Lesueur. The same thick, pendent and fringed, or crenated lips as’ in La- beo; but the dorsal is short, like that of a Leuciscus, and is oppo- site to and above the ventrals. From the rivers of North Ame- rica. (2) ¥ Leveiscus, Klein. The dorsal and anal short; neither spines nor cirri; nothing par- ticular 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, Che- vaune, Gardon, &c.(3) We distinguish them by the position of the dorsal, a character however which is not always sufficiently well marked. In some it is opposite to the ventrals. Ofthis 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, 36. About the same colours; the,head narrower, back higher, and snout more convex. L. rutilus; Cyp. rutilus, L.; La Rosse, Bl., 2. Body com- pressed, silvery; red fins. L. vulgaris; Cyp. leuciscus; La Vandoise, Bl., 97, f. 1. Body straight; fins pale; snout slightly prominent... The L. nasus;.Cyp. nasus, L.; Le Nez, is'taken in the Rhine; its snout is more salient and obtuse than that of the Leuciscus.(4) (1) C. niloticus, Geoff., Foiss, du Nil, pl. ix, f. 2;—C. jimbriatus, Bl., 409, to which must be added the Catostomus cyprinus, Lesueur. (2) 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, Cat. 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. [These fishes are the Suck- , ers of the United States. 2m. Ed.] (3) Bloch and his successors have not adhered te the customary application, of these French names, which they have distr ibuted almost at random. (4) Add: C,. grislagine;—C. jeses, and of foreign species, C. pala, Cuv., Russ., 207;—C. tolo, Cuv., Russ., 208;—C. boga, Buch. Pisc. Gang., pl. xxviii, f. 80;—C. MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES. 203 In others, the dorsal is placed opposite the interval between the ventrals and the anal. Of this group are found in France, 4 L. erythrophtalmus; Le Rotengle; Bl., 1. Fins red as in the Rutilus; the body thicker and more elevated. * L. alburnus; Cyp..alburnus, L.; L’ Ablette; Bl., 8, f. 4. Body narrow, silvery, brilliant; fins pales; 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. e vif bipunctatus; Cyp. bipunctatus, L.; Bl., 8, f. 1. Very simi- lar to the alburnus; two black points on each scale of the late- ral line. L. phoxinus; Cyp. phoxinus, L.; Bl. 8, f. 5. Spotted with blackish; the smallest of the French species. L orphus; C. orphus; BI., 95.