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THE

Figures, Defcription, and Hiftory,

O F

EXOTIC ANIMAL S,

COMPRISED UNDER THE CLASSES

AMPHIBIA and PISCES

O F

L I N N JE U S.

r-

By JOHN WALCOTT, Esq^

And GOD faiu every Thing that HE had made ,

Printed by W. JUSTINS, Shoemaker Row, Elackfriars,
For the AUTHOR:

And sold by MeflT. WHITE and SON, Fleet Street;
ROBSON and CLARKE, New-Bond Street ;

And J. MATHEWS, Strand.

M,DCC , LXXXV III,

THIS work will contain figures copied from
nature ; of about two hundred exotic animals
of the ciajfes Amphibia, and Pisces of Linnaeus ;
now in my poffefiion ; with a defcription and hiftory
of each : and will be comprifed in ten numbers.
But as I have a profpeB of con fider able additions
to this colleSlion , I purpofe, at J'ome future period ,
to pub If j a Second Part ; which will contain the
remainder of fuch foreign animals as are known
to us.

The plates will be found ufeful in illuft rating
fuch works of Natural Hiftory , Travels , and Voy¬
ages, as are deftitute of them : efpecially the above-
mentioned part of the System a Nature. Lin-
nas us refers for figures to more books than are
perhaps in the library of any one p erf on. His plan
indeed would not permit him to give them ; but he
confejfes at the fame time , that they are the life of
Natural Hiftory : and it mi ft be allowed \ that a
figure gives us a more perfeSl idea of any fubjetl
than the moft elaborate defcription.

/

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Testudo Mydas. Green Turtle. Fore fins an oblong oval:
thofe of the male furnifhed with two claws: hind fins broad and
round at the end, with one claw : fhell convex, fmooth, of a reddifh
brown, broke with yellow, and rayed with a deeper brown or
black: futures of the fhell and edges of the fide fcales waved;
belly a pale yellow.

This kind of Turtle , whofe flefii is well known at our tables,
inhabits the fea in the Weft Indies; and is fometimes found on
the coaft of North America. In April they for the moft part re¬
tire to the ifland of Cuba and the Spanifh main, to breed; bury¬
ing their eggs, which are above eight hundred in number, in the
fand, a little above high water mark ; leaving them there to be
hatched by the heat of the fun: feed on fea grafs; are taken either
in nets, (truck with a fmall kind of harpoon, or furprifed when go¬
ing afliore to lay.

V,

Rana arborea. European ’Tree Frog. Back fmooth; of a fine
green colour, bound near the Tides with yellow: belly a pale yel¬
low . and covered with warts : from the noftrils along the head,
and Tides, a dufky ftripe : four unwebbed toes to the fore feet ;
five femipalmated to the hind; ends of all the toes round, and
Jpreading.

This fpccies appears to be common to all parts of Europe;
except Great Britain and Ireland: in the fpring frequents ditches
and puddles to breed : their tadpoles refemble thole of the com¬
mon frog : after calling their fpawn afeend trees, where they pafs
the warm months; the form of the ends of their toes, and a vifcid
juice that ouzes from them, enable them to keep firm, on the
fmooth furface of the branches and leaves: feeds on infects.

The poifonous qualities attributed to animals of this genus are
omitted; as they appear to be groundlefs,

V

\

S

rana . Brown and White 'Tree Frog. Upper parts

fmooth:' brown regularly blotched or fpotted with filvery white:
belly yellow and covered with fmall warts: four unwebbed toes
to the fore feet, five femipalmated to the hind: the above figure
is the natural fize.

We are not perfectly acquainted with the country fiom whence
this beautiful fpecies came, nor of its manners,

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Draco volans. Flying Lizard. Head fmall and convex: three
pointed fkins hang from the throat, the middle one the longeft:
body {lender: from each fide extends a broad rounded fkin, de¬
tached from the legs, and (Lengthened by fix pliable rays: tail
long and {lender: five toes to each foot.

The wings of this Lizard appear to be like thofe of the Flying
Squirrel, defigned rather to act as fails, in leaping from tree to tree,
than to be ufed as wings. It inhabits the Eaft Indies, whete it
perches on trees: is oviperous.

La cert a Chamasleon. Egyptian Camelion. Tongue long and
open at the end like the probofcis of the Elephant: ball of the eye
very large and covered with a fkin, having only a fmall hole in the
middle for the fight: top of the head as far as the eyes flat; from
thence to the hind part of it runs a ridge, formed by an oval de-
preffure on each fide; giving the animal, when looked at fideways,
the appearance of large ears: back arched: whole fkin fhagieened:
each foot is deeply divided ; one part has thi ee toes, and the other
two, united to pretty near the claws: length 1 1 inches and an half.

The Camelion is common in Palefiine and Egypt , climing trees
and running among (tones. This animal does not live on air, as
fome have thought, nor does it affimilate its colour to whatever it
is near. But Hajfelguejl , a difciple of Linnaus , and who faw it in its
native country, fays, that its natural colour is iron-grey, which it
changes to yellow of various fhades, fometimes with a tint of
green ; and is fometimes fpotted. It has the power of becoming
plump or lean; when- plump, it retains its natuiai co*cur, but
when lean, changes it..

.

La cert a |3 Chameleon. Arabian Cdmeliom Linnaeus
makes this a variety of the Egyptian , from which it differs in hav¬
ing the top of the head flat, where the other rifes into a high
ridge ; and alfo in having the middle of the throat and belly fer-
rated: it is likewife laid, never to exceed fix inches in length.

Camelicns , like fome fpecies of monkies, twift the end of their
tails round branches of trees, to afiift them in climbing: take in-
feds, which is their only food, by darting their tongue at them;
which in this fpecies is four inches long; and that of the Egyptian
ten, and. covered at the end with a glutinous matter. T. he man¬
ner of moving their eyes deferves particular notice; one being
often fixed, whilft the other moves; and one loons downwaids at
the fame time that the other looks upwards.

The above animal derives its name from the country it inhabits,
viz. Arabia : though it is to be met with in Egypt ; and alfo in Bar -
bary, where it is called ’E ait ah and Bouiah.

L a c e r t a Iguana. Guana.
A pouch under the throat, fer-
rated on the edge near the chin :
along the middle of the neck,
back, and about one-fourth of
the tail, a row of long narrow
ereft appendages : remainder of
the tail ferrated: colour green,
tail annulated with black bands :
five unwebbed toes ; length five
feet.

One I have met with, whether
the young, or a variety of the
above, I am not certain, has the
back only ferrated, and wants
the black bands on the tail:
length of the head and body fix
inches: tail nearly one foot and
an half.

The Guana inhabits the rocks
on the coafl of moft of the Weft
India iflands, where they are
taken by dogs trained for the pur-
pofe : the fleih affords a favourite
difh to the natives, either frefh or
cured with fait: it feeds on vege¬
tables: moves flow: buries its
eggS> which are numerous and
covered with a fkin, in the earth;
where they are hatched by th$
heat of the fun.

I

La cert a Salamandra. Salamander. Nofe blunt: head broad
and depreffed: colour of the whole animal yellow and black: the
former is the ground, and the latter runs in broad ftripes down the
back and Tides, and in an irregular manner on the belly, legs, and
tail : tail thick and blunt at the end3 and fomewhat compreffed :
four toes to the fore feet, five to the hind; all without claws:
pores in the fkin behind the eyes, back, fides, and tail.

This animal is found in the fouthern parts of Europe, in cold
jfhade and marfhy places.

The following erroneous accounts are given of the Salamander ;
fuch as its being fpontaneoufly produced by fire — living in it with¬
out detriment — and putting out live coals by a matter that it vo¬
luntary emits through the pores of its fkin — and that it is deadly
in its bite.

Cro talus horridus. Great
'Rattlejnake. Head flatted : body
thickeft near the middle : colour
brown, marked with broad c.anf-
verfe dentated black bands : the
rattle at the end of the tail formed
by loofe horny joints, and varying
in number; as 8, 13, 24, 40, and
even 70. The one here figured is
five feet long, but they are faid
to grow to more than twice that
length. Scuta on the belly 172 :
under the tail 26.

This Snake is common in the
hilly uncultivated parts of N.
America: moves flow: is vivi-
perous, and brings forth in June,
about twelve young ones. When
provoked, fhakes the rattle at the
end of the tail; making a noife
with it like that of a Ipinning
wheel. When its bite is in the
flefh only, it is cured by cutting
Out the part, or fucking the
wound; but if in a vein or artery,
it is immediate death. Its power
to facinate with its eyes both
birds and fmall quadrupedes,
caufing them to run into its
mouth, is univerfally afferted and
believed in America,

Boa . . Spotted Boa .

Head broad, and marked down
the middle, and on each fide with
four brown ftripes: body a red-
difh white fpotteddown the back;
along each fide and on the belly
with a deep brown: tail round
and comprelfed at the end:
length about ten inches. Scuta
on the belly 135: under the tail
29.

As the young of the Rattle-
fnake are laid to want the rattle,
it is doubtful whether this may
not be the young of fome of its
fpecies. Should it however be of
this genus, and a native of North
America, it may be that kind
of Water Snake mentioned by
Bricket in his Nat. Hift. of
North Carolina; which he com¬
pares, for colour, to the Englilh
Adder, which this refembles.
He fpeaks of it as very common
on the fea coaft, efpecially under
the drift fea weed ; and adds, that
it is of the mifchievous kind.

COLUBER.

SCUTA on the belly.

S C A L E S under the tail.

Coluber doliatus. Hooped
Snake. Head fmall and narrow:
back eroded with black ftripes,
ranged in pairs, and forming
rings, by uniting on the Tides:
fides below the rings irregularly
marked: ground colour a yel-
lowifh white : belly plain : length
one foot eight inches. Scuta 160:
feales 40.

Inhabits Carolina, and perhaps
other North American provin¬
ces.

The fpecies forming this ge¬
nus being very numerous, it
would afiift us greatly in dif-
, tinguilhing them, were they ar¬
ranged under two heads; viz.
Vipers and Snakes ; the former
have a broad flat head, move
flowly, are viviperous, and their
bite is attended with bad confe-
quences. The latter, have their
head fmall and narrow, and their
bite does not appear to be at¬
tended with any very bad efFeft :
are aftive, and in their mode of
breeding oviviperous. Another
character might doubtlefs be
drawn from their teeth.

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Amphisb^na fuligino-
fa. Pied Worm V nake . Head
fmall: body of nearly an equal
fize throughout : tail blunt and
rounded: colour a glofs white,
marked on the rings irregularly
with brown or copper-coloured
flripes: length ten inches.

The animals forming this ge-r
nus, have been generally fup-
pofed to have two heads ; from a
fancied refemblance the tail bears
to the head; which deception is
ftrengthened, by their moving
like the Earthworm, backward
as well as forward.

The one here figured, inhabits
the warmeft part of America:
lives under ground: moves
(lowly: feeds on infefts: and its
poilon is deemed incurable.

I

Ostracion . Ftve-Jpned Coney-fijh. Body triangular,

and reticulated by funk lines into hexangular and heptangular me-
flies, each bound a little within the line by a black ftrip: before
each eye a ftrong fhort fpinej a third on the middle of the back;
and one on each fide the belly near the vent: body from the vent
to the tail covered with a foft fmooth fkin: tail round at the end,
length ten inches. D. io. P. 12. A. 10.

I have reafon to fuppofe it inhabits the Indian ocean.

It is probable that this genus has the power 01 di awing the de-
fencelefs parts under the bony coat of the body, at the appioach
of danger. It feems necefifary that the parts of the boay to which
the fins are attached, fhould be covered with a pliable fkin ; efpe-
cially that part of the body near the tail; as fifh move forward
lefs with the affiftance of their fins, than by the motion of their
body fideways; which is exemplified in the common method
of impelling a cock boat, by moving fideways an oar at the ftern.

/

Echene is Remora. Fork-tailed Remora. Head broad and
depreffed: lower jaw longed: : on the top of the head and begin¬
ning of the back an oblong fhield, cut tranfverfly by 16, 17, 18,
or 19 furrows; and the whole divided down the middle: body
fmooth; (lender; round near the head, but compreffed towards
the tail: tail forked: length two feet. D. 22. P. 28. V. 5. A. 22.

This fifh is frequently taken adhering by the fhield on its head,
to the bottom of fliips, and bodies of large fifh: and is efteemed
tolerable good eating. Though what Oppian and Fliny relate of the
powers of the Remora , in flopping a gaily with four hundred rowers
and a fhip in full fail, merit no credit; yet, like the marvellous ac¬
counts of fome other creatures, appear not to be wholly without
foundation. For Abbe Fortis fays, that once failing in a fmall bark,
in the Gulph of Venice, the man at the helm fuddenly called to
his companion to kill a Remora , which had fixed itfelf to the rudder,
and which did then as he had often experienced before, fenfibly both
retard and alter the courfe of the veffel. Thus what might have
happened to a boat, is by Oppian and Pliny transferred to a galley
or fhip.

Ch^todon . White-ftr'vped Chatodon. Edge of the

upper gill cover armed with a ftrong ipine: body very deep and
compreffed: colour dufky; the head ftriped down the forehead,
and behind the mouth and eyes with white: body fpotted with
black, and marked tranfverfly with two white ftripes: tail white,
marked in the middle with a large femicircular dufky fpot: tail
round at the end. D. tV P. iB. V. }. A.

Linnaeus appears not to have known this fpecies, which is taken
among the Caribee iflands.

Perca formofa. Grunt* Corners of the mouth yellow:
head yellow ; ftriped lengthways with pale blue, bound with pur¬
ple : body white, ftriped tranfverfly with yellow : Tides comprefled :
lateral line nearly parallel to the arch of the back: tail forked:
length one foot. D. If* P* lS • V* r* A. |.

This kind is taken on the coaft of North America, and amongft
the Bahama and Caribee Iflands; where they have a method of
taking fifh, by intoxicating them with the bark of the roots of
Dog-wood Pifcidia Erythrina ; Linn. They pound the bark and fteep
it in water, and then fqueeze the juice through their hands into
the fea, which makes the fifti float motionlefs on the furface.

Teuthis Hepatus. Dottor. Teeth ferrated: body very
deep and compreffed: head and body a dufky purple, to near the
tail, where it is white : on each fide the body near the tail, a ftrong
fpine, pointing towards the head, with a grove for it to lay in :
lateral line runs parallel to the arch of the back: tail forked.
D. P. 1 6. V. A.

Taken among the Caribee Iflands.

As fifh, and likewife fea birds, fwallow fifh with their heads
downward, that the fpiny rays of the fins may fall, and not in¬
jure them j the fide fpines of this fifh, mufl therefore be a great
defence to it* as its enemies cannot guard againft them.

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EXOCOETUS.

Head fcaly. No teeth: the jaws connected on
both fides.

Branchioftegous rays X.

Body whitilh. Belly angulated. Pe&oral fins
very large, volatile, the anterior rays carrinated.

4

Exocetus volitans. Common Flying Fifo. Head fliort and
thick: eyes very large: body thick and rather fliort: back broad,
and of a dark colour: Tides and belly filvery white: fcales pretty
large : a ridge on each fide the belly: under fork of the tail much
longer than the upper. D. 13. P. 17. V. 6. A. 14.

According to Linn^us, this is the fpecies met with all over
the ocean, in warm latitudes. This fifli being perfecuted by the
Tunny, Bonnet-fifli, Gold-filh, &c. are drove to feek fhelter in the
air, (an unnatural element for fifli) ; where, by means of their large
pedtoral fins, they fly as light and fwift as a bird, the diflance of a
gun fhot, or as long as the fins continue moift. But here alfo
new enemies await them ; for they become the prey or the Tro¬
phic-bird, Boby, Man of War-bird, &c. and when fpent, fre¬
quently fall on the decks of veffels.

Exocoetus. ........ Slender Flying Fijh. 1 his agrees with.

the former, in having the Tides of the belly ridged ; from which,
however, it may be diftinguifhed at firft fight, by the flendernefs of
the body, and great length of the ventral fins. D. 12. P. 14.
V. 6. A. 13.

Till now this fpecies appears to have been confounded with the
lafb, or wholly overlooked. 1 regret, no part of its hiffory can
be gained from voyagers; who do but mention their feeing Flying
Fifh, without adding any character, by which the kind might be
known : and of courfe we flill remain ignorant, what ocean or fea
it inhabits, Probably the ventral fins alfift it in its flight.

Poly n em us parodifeus. Indian Pclyneme. To each fide the
throat hang feven thread like appendages, the longeft reach a
little beyond the vent: body comprefTed, and not very deep: a
large fcale near the bafe of the ventral fins: lateral line flightly
curved ■, parallel to which run fine railed lines on the body : rays
of the firfl dorfal fpiny : tail forked. D. 7. TV« P. 1 5. V. A. A*
This fifh is taken among the Caribee illands, where it is called
Cat-Jiffo-, in lieu of which I have fubftituted that of Indian Pclynemei
as the former name is given to almoft every fifh that has thread¬
like appendages hanging to die head or diroat.

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T e s t u D o grasca. African T ortoije. Shell a greeniih yellow ;
the ^ales on the back marked irregularly in the difk and edge,
and the fide ones obliquely with black; down the belly are two
broad black ftripes: tail fhort: no toes; five claws to the fore feet,
four to the hind.

Inhabits Africa: feeds on vegetables: moves (lowly, partly
owing to the fide bend of the fore legs : at the approach of
winter buries itfelf in the earth, where it pafies that feafon in a
torpid date: its flefli is reckoned more palatable than the Turlies
o( the Mediterranean.

R A N A.

Four feet, no cover to the body, no tail.

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Ran a Pipa. Surinam Toad. Head very broad, and fhort: at
each corner of the mouth a fmall projected piece of fkin: upper
parts dufky, covered with numerous minute black pimples: under
parts a dirty yellow, the belly marked dowTn the middle with a
dulky ftripe: four long unwebbed toes to the fore feet, divided at
the end into four parts : five webbed toes to the hind feet.

This extraordinary animal inhabits Guiana, where it is called
Pipa. The mode by which it propagates its fpecies, is perhaps
peculiar to it, the young being bred in the back of the male,
where the female depofits her eggs.

' ✓

Ran a ocellata. Bull Frog. Head not very broad, irides
dufky red furrounded with a yellow ring: the auricles covered
with a thin circular (kin: upper parts a dufky brown, thick let;
with large irregular fhaped fpots; the whole blended with a yel-
lowifh green: under jaw brown, mottled with white: belly white;
four unwebbed toes to the fore feet, five webbed to the hind.

Inhabits N. and S. America: is not a numerous fpecies: keeps
in pairs: frequents ponds, flagnate water, and the mouth of rills 5
which it is fuppofed to purify ; during winter remains torpid, un^
der mud; in the lpnng it begins to bellow the noife like that of an
enraged bull, and fo loud as to be heard, in a fliil evening, the dif-
tance of a mile : will go three yards at a leap : feeds on young
ducks and goflins. It is edible, and affords as much meat as a
pullet.

R ana. . . Small-headed 'Toad. Head very fmall and

pointed: body fwollen: fkin fmooth; of a purpiifh brown colour,
lighted on the belly: legs fhort: four unwebbed toes to the
fore feet; five unwebbed to the hind: Tides flightly margined:
the figure is its natural fize.

Inhabits .

4

Lacerta. 6-lineata. Six-lined Lizard. Head a reddifli
brown: a gray line down the middle of the back, bound by a
white one; beyond thefe to the Tides three white lines, feparated
by black ftripes : belly white : outer toe of the hind feet attached
to the heel, lecond toe as long again as the reft: tail longer than
the body and head: the fcales verticilated.

Inhabits Carolina,

L a cert A pun&ata. Spotted Eft. Body and tail dulky, belly
lighted: j Tides marked with two or three rows of ijpots, in Tome
white, in others yellowifh; and the tail with a Tingle row of the
fame: tail comprefled; four unwebbed toes to the fore feetj five
to the hind.

Inhabits marfhy places in Carolina and Virgina. Swims by
means of an undulated motion of the tail, keeping its legs clofe
to the body.

1/

Coluber Fulvius. ’Tawny
' Snake. Head broadilh, and
round at themuzzel: the whole
, animal is marked with broad
black rings, from 19 to 22 in
number i on the back they are
bound with a yellowifh white:
the intermediate fpace tawny,
fpotted with black: Tides and
belly between the rings a yel¬
lowifh white, fpotted with black:
length about three feet. Scuta
204: fcales 40.

Inhabits Carolina .

Coluber. . . Pen-

Jacola Snake. Head narrow; the
fcales on the top black edged
with white: a narrow white
ftripe down the middle of the
back, from head to tail ; on each
fide a broad one of black; this
bound by another of white; and
beneath that another of black,
dentated on the edges : belly
white ; a little way from the
head marked with two rows of
fmall brown fpots; from thence
to the vent with three rows ;
and again under the tail with
only two rows : length nine
inches. Scuta 163: fcales 44.

Inhabits Penjacola,

Sqjjalus Priftis. Saw-jijh,
Nofe lengthened into a long flat
griftly body, armed on each fide
with from twenty-four to twenty-
feven {lender teeth : lips covered
with rough hard tubercles inftead
of teeth : an aperture behind each
eye for the difcliarge of water :
two dorfal fins : a narrow flip cut
half way down the inner fide of
the ventral fins : end of the tail
obliquely truncated: length up¬
wards of twenty feet.

Inhabits all feas, from Green¬
land to thofe of the Brafils : is
found in thofe of Africa, and
of the Eaft Indies : is frequently
mifnamed the Sword-fijh . Crantz,
Anderfon, and other writers on
the Nat. Hift. of Greenland, and
Iceland, make it the enemy of
feals and whales and aflert, that
it eats only the tongue of the
latter, leaving the reft of the
huge carcafe a prey to the
Morfes, and Sea-Birds.

i

*

Balistf. s . Long File-fijh. Body not very deep; the

fkin divided by fmooth furrows into fmall rough fcale-like fpaces:
each of thefe on the fides have a fmall fpine pointing towards the
tail: the firft dorfal fin has three fpines; the firft of which is very
large and rough in front like a file; (hence the Englifii name) : the
third very fhort, and fituated at a confiderable diftance from the
other two : fkin of the back and belly at the bafe of the dorfal and
anal fins drawn out and comprefTed: pedloral fins fmall : dorfal and
anal fins triangular, and fituated nearly oppofite each other : tail
even at the end. D. 3. 24. P. 14. A. 19.

This genus takes its name from a fingular property of the firft
dorfal fin of feveral of the fpecies ; viz. no force can deprefs the
firft fpine; but if the laft be depreffed, in ever fo gentle a man¬
ner, the other two immediately fall down with it; and as inftanta-
neoufiy as when a crofs-bow is let off by pulling the trigger. It
is on this account likewife, that one kind taken in the Mediterra¬
nean, is called at Rome, Pejce Balejlra-, i. e. the Crojs-Bow Fijh,
and the genus B a l i s t e s.

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I

Balistes . Body much comprefled and deep: rays

of the firft dorfal fin fpinyj the firft ray very long and rough;
firft dorfal fin and the back from its bafe black ; reft of the body
and the head a golden yellow: fkin rough: in the place of each
central fin a long rough fpine: tail forked: length five inches,
D. 3. 22. P. 13. V. 1. A. 20.

Inhabits .

Ostracion bicaudalis. Old Wife. Body triangular : back
fharp: the boney coat, on the head and body, divided by ftriae,
into many hexangular mefhes: the areas rough with numerous
granule, ranged in concentric lines : the fkinny cover of the body
near the tail, and the tail-fin, marked with largifh fpots: a ftrong
fpine on each fide the belly, pointing towards the tails length one
foot. D. io. P. 12. A. io.

Inhabits the Indian ocean.

Grew in his account of the Rarities preferved in Grefham-col-
lege mentions a fifh apparently the fame as the above, excepting
an oval cruft it has upon the tail.

I * ■ ' ■ i

Syngnathus Hippocampus. Sea Horfe. Head bent down
towards the belly: body as far as the vent heptangularj the belly
edged with a narrow black web: from thence to tne tail aie four
angles; the belly being fwollen and rounded: tail quadrangular ;
and generally curled downwards : along the ridges a row of tuber¬
cles: the whole animal fpeckled. D. 15. P. 15. A. 4.

Befides the above animal, whofe native place I am ignorant of,
there are two other kinds: one is common in the Mediterranean
fea and Weflern ocean; and in the place of tubercles of the above
has fhort fpines: the other is fmooth and without fpots, and is
found in the Streights of Sunda in the Eaft Indies,

?

Pleuronectes lineatus. Lineated Flounder. Of an oblong
fnape: fcales on the head large, on the body fmall; all fpiny on
the edge: no pe&oral fins: the outer ventral fin united to the
anal: colour of the body dufky, marked tranfverfly with feven or
eight black lines: rays of the fins fcaly; end of the tail round:
length near eight inches. D. 51. V. 4- A. 37.

Inhabits the coaft of America from New England to Jamaica.
Varies like the common Flounder, in the fituation of the eyes;
the one here figured, having them on the right fide; thatdefcribed
by Linnaeus on the left.

»

Perca . Red-Jiriped Perch. Lower jaw longeft: a Tingle

dorfal fin: body ftriped lengthwife, with a light purplifh red, on a
yellowifh ground: a black fpot on each fide the middle of the
back, clofe to the lateral line : body comprefied : tail forked and
edjred with black. D.A. P. 16. V.f. A.i,

Found among the Caribbee iflands.

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Trig la volitans. Kite-fijh. Head fquare; two ftrong
fpines at the hinder part: gill cover ending in a long ftrong fpine :
body roundifh and (lender: on the fcales run lengthwife a fcal-
loped thin ridge : between the dorfal fins a ftngle fhort fpine : ven¬
tral fins very large, reaching to the tail :, four appendages under
the throat, united by a web: tail forked : length one foot and an
half. When frefh taken, the back is either a light or dufky
red; the belly white; and the ventral fins prettily fpotted.
D. 5. 8. P. 6. V. 22. A. 6.

Inhabits the Atlantic and Indian ocean and the. Mediterranean
fea : when purfued by the Doredo, &c. quits the water ; and, by
means of its ventral fins, flies in the air about a ftone’s caft. It
is common in the fifh markets of Italy, Sicily, and Malta.

I

S I L U R U S.

Head naked. Several beards about the mouth.

Branchioftegous rays IV, - XIV.

Firft ray of the dorfal or pectoral fin fpiny, den-
tated backward.

SiLurb Catus. Cat-fi/h. Head broad and deprefied : to
each noftril hangs a beard; one to each corner of the mouth;
and four under the chin: body comprefied: fkin fmooth, upper
part of the body dulky; lower pale flefli colour: fecond dorfal
fin raylefs and flefhy : inner fide of the firft ray of the peftoral
fins ftrongly ferrated: tail forked: length two feet. D.i. P.i.
V. 8.. A. 11.

This fifti inhabits the fea coaft, and alfo the frefh water rivers
ofN. America: feeds on filh, even thofe of its own fpecies: fwims
flowly : its tafte is like that of an eel, and much admired.

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Sal mo articus. Capelan. Head fmall, lower jaw longed:
body (lender; the lateral line formed by a ridge of fhort bridles;
gill covers black: back a dull green: fides and belly filvery white,
dotted with black : the belly often tinged with violet: firft dorfal
fin is in the middle of the back ; the fecond broad and truncated
at top: pectoral fins large and fituated very low: tail forked:
leno-th fix inches. D. 15. P. 20. V. 9. A. 21. The female
wants the black on the gill covers ; and the lateral line is fmooth.

This filh fwarms on the coaft of Newfoundland , Greenland , and
Iceland ; lives moftly at fea, and comes into bays only in the
months of May, June, and July, to breed. The females enter
firft, and depofit their roe on the fea plants. The males follow to
milt. At this time their number makes the water look black
and curled. They are taken by dipping fmall nets, faftened to a
hoop at the end of a pole. When frelh caught, they have the fmell
of a cucumber. At Newfoundland they are called Capelan ; and
are preferved in brine, as baits for the Cod fiihery — in Iceland ,
Lcduq — and in Greenland , Angmarfet ; where they dry them on the
rocks, and fupply the place of bread in winter.

Exocoetus ...... Great Flying-fijh. This fifh agrees

with the Slender Flying-fijh (already figured) in the great length
of its ventral fins, but differs from it, in having a thicker body:
the pettoral fins alfo reach beyond the end of the ventral, when
both lay clofe to the body ; whereas the pedloral fins of the Slender
Flying-fijh fcarce reach to the end of them : another character of
this is having the firft ray of the ventral fins very Ihort and fpread-
ing. D. ii. P. 18. V. 6. A. 12.

I have denominated this the Great Flying-fijh , from having feen
it near two feet long; whereas the Common Flying-fijh at leaft
thofe in my pofifeffion, are not more than eight inches; nor the
Slender Flying-fijh more than fix.

Flying-fijh are met with in vafl flioals between the tropics; but
are not confined to them; having been feen, though rarely and
few in number, as low as the latitude of 40 degrees on the coaft
of N. iVrnerica, and 53 of Europe,

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Clupea Encraficolus. Anchovy. Nofe pointed: edge of
the jaws finely ferrated: eyes large: body round and (lender :
the back of a dufky green colour ; the Tides and belly of a filvery
white: between the ventral fins a long pointed fcale : tail forked:
length fix inches and an half. D. 15. P. 1 5. V. 7. a. 16.

At different feafons it frequents the Atlantic ocean and the
Mediterranean fea; palling through the Streights of Gibraltar
towards the Levant in the months of May, June, and July. The
greateff fifhery is at Gorgona, a fmall ille weft of Leghorn ; where
they are taken at night in nets ; into which they are allured by
lights fixed to the ftern of the veffels : when cured, their heads
are cut off; their gall and guts taken out, and then faked and
packed in barrels: it fcarce needs be mentioned, that being put

on the fire, they diffolve almoft in any liquor : are well-tafted
when frelh.

...

&ANA . "Long-legged Frog. Auricles covered with a

thin circular fkin : upper parts of the head, body, and limbs, of a
dufky green, fpotted with black; under part yellow; from the nofe
beneath the eyes and ears is a white line: and a yellow line runs
from the nofe over each eye and along the fides to the rump; hind
legs very long: four unwebbed toes to the fore feet: five femipal-
mated to the hind.

. This fpecies of Frogs is found in Carolina; where, from its
conftantly frequenting rivulets and ditches, is called the Water
Frog. It is faid to leap five or fix yards at once.

R a n a . Cloven-foot Frog. Auricles covered with a thin

fkin: four unwebbed toes to the fore feet: five to the hind: a tu¬
bercle under each joint of the toes.

It is probable that thofe Toads and Frogs which have unwebbed
toes, do not frequent water even to breed: at leaft fome fpecies
are faid to breed in hollow trees.

/

_

Lacerta agilis? . . Back and Tides fpotted with black:

the back bound by a white ftripe; and the belly by a broken one:
belly a greenifh yellow ; and covered with Jcuta lhaped fcales : tail
long, the fcales verticillated : length about one foot fix inches.

Var. (3 Ground colour of the back and Tides a deep blue: the
ftripe that binds the back broken ; belly a pale blue, y Like the firft,
but wants the ftripe that binds the back and belly.

/

Coluber miliaris ... s ... »
Head narrow: back dufky, each
fcale marked with a round white
fpot; thofe on the fides largeft:
belly white : marked here and
there with fhort dufky ftripes or
fpots: end of the tail fharp and
horney: fcuta 160: fcales 55.

Inhabits the Indies.

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Coluber . Head

fhort ; broad and convex nofe
turned up : a dufky ftripe crof-
fes the forehead, and paffes
through each eye to the corner
of the mouth: individuals are
marked diverfely on the crown of
the head : back dufky ftriped
tranfverfely, with white bound
on the fides by a dufky fpot :

belly black and white. Scuta 47:
fcales 48.

Were it not for the great dif¬
ference between this viper and
the fimus of Linnaeus, in the
number of the fcutaj I fhould
be inclined to think them the
fame fpecies.

..

Coluber . Blue-Jiriped

Ribband Snake. Head narrow
and flatted : body very long and
(lender: down the back are two
deep blue (tripes: reft of the
body a bluifh white: in fome
parts, where the old (kin re¬
mains, the back is browniih;
and the belly of a light coppery
colour: Scuta 1 6 8 : fcales 175.

This Snake is probably a va¬
riety of the Coluber firtalis.

Squalus Zygoena. Ba¬
lance -fijh. The charadteriftic of
this fifh is the formation of its
head, fpreading on each fide
into the fhape of a balance : or,
as fome have compared it, not
improperly, to the head of a
mallet, or hammer, except that
it is depreffed: at the" ends, or
faces of which are fituated the
eyes.

Inhabits the Mediterranean
fea. Said, to approach the
whale in fize: the one from
whence the above figure was ta¬
ken is about two feet long; and
of an uniform yellow colour: the
adults have the upper parts
black, the lower white.

I

Lophius Vefpertiiio. Sea Bat. Forehead projecting into
a long conic fliape: body as far as the vent broad, and fomewhat
depreflfed ; from the vent to the tail narrow and rounded : the fkin,
except on the belly, covered with rough tubercles.

Inhabits the Caribean fea.

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Ostracion cofnutus . A loftg fpme m front : of each

eye, and one on each fide the vent pointing to the tad : body qua¬
drangular, reticulated with raifed line, and rough with granule,
tail very long and rounded at the end, D, 9- P- 10. A. 9.
Found in the Indian ocean,

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Tetraodon hifpidus . Head and body, as far as

the dorfal fin and the vent, covered with numerous fmall fpinesj
thole of the belly retra&ile: belly inflated: tail even at the end.
D. 8. P. 27. V. 6.

Inhabits the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean fea. From
the figure of this filh, in Rondeletius and other writers, it appears
to have the power of inflating its belly confiderably more than the
one from which the above drawing is taken j and which had
probably fhrunk in the fpirits in which it is preferred,

Diodon . Colour white, marked lengthwife on the

back and Tides with brown (tripes ■, and on each fide the bale of the
dorfal fin with a fpot of the fame: body armed with fhort com-
preffed fpines, trifid at the bafe. D. ii» P. 2,2. A. 11.

This fifh which is omitted by Linnaeus, is defcribed by Ray
p. 42. No. 3. who gives as fynomia Orbis JpinoJus Cluf. and Gua-
maicu atinga Maregr. Petiver has given a figure of it Tab. LX IX.
fig. 1. which he copied from Sir Walter Rawleigh’s paintings
with this infcription, “ A fwelling fifh eight incnes in length: and
defcribes the ground colour to be yellow, all the (beaks very biack,
the prickles blueifh, fides tawny, fins a redifh brown.

\

Echeneis N eucrates. Round-tailed Remora. J aws (lender,
the lower longeft: fhield divided down the middle, and cut tranf-
verfally by 24 furrows ; body very long, (lender, and round : a few
of the fide rays of the tail of an equal length : the reft gradually
increafe in length, and make the middle round. D. 37. P. 21.
V. 5. A. 37.

Inhabits the Mediterranean; and confequently fhould be ra¬
ther the Echeneis of Pliny, &c. than the Fork-tailed Remoray which
authors in general make it.

I find among the fynonyma of this fpecies, a reference to one
figured in Petiver’s works, Vol. I. Tab. XLIV. Fig. 12. which
if faithfully copied from nature, differs fpecifically from it. Among
other characters, which might be produced, to prove it a diftinft
fpecies, is that particularly of its not having the partition down the
middle of the fhield.

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Coryph^na Hippurus. Dolphin. Head comprefled : body
long and flender: lateral line waved at the beginning; appears
when fwiming to be fhaded with black, blue, and green; but its
real colour is greenifli fpotted with blue: tail much forked:
length three or four feet. D. 60. P. 21. V. 6. A. 26.

This fifh is met with by navigators between the tropics, both
in the Atlantic and Pacific ocean; and fhould have been placed
among the enemies of the flying-fifh : fwims fwiftly : is good eat¬
ing: the bait ufed by feamen to take it, is an artificial fiying-filh
made of tin or wood ; with fins of briftles or feathers.

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Pleuronectes . . Body of an oval fhape: back

a bluifh grey, fpeckled with black; fome of which are ranged in
7 or 8 tranfverfe lines: edge of the fcales fpiny: pedloral fins
very fmall : tail round at the end. D. 55. P. 5. V. 5. A. 43.
Taken among the Weft India Iflands.

Agrees in many particulars with the Lineated Flounders,

Chatodon ftriatus . A dufkv ftripe down the head

and through the eyes; three more down the body; and a fifth
near the edge of the dorlal and anal fin, which is likewife con¬
tinued acrofs the tail: ground colour white: fides ftriated : tail +

round at the end. D. Pr. P. 15. V.f. A. A.

This fifh is taken among the Weft India Ifiands.

The principal chara6ter ufed by Linnaeus, to diftinguifh the
fpecies of this genus, is the number of fpiny rays in thedoifal fin.

Concluding therefore, that the number was conftant, I was lead to
fuppofe him unacquainted with the White-ftriped Chstodcn, already
figured in this work ; but have fince found my miftake, in that it
is the arcuatus ; and that the number of fpiny rays varies in it, as.

Ch^todon capiftratus . Mouth proje&ing: colour

of the whole fifh a bluifh white, marked as follows; a dulky ftripe
down the fides of the head through the eyes : three fainter ftripes
mark the body tranfverfely, and a fourth, rather darker, pafies the
tail : a large round fpot on the dorfal fin near the tail, with a light
coloured iris: fides ftriated: tail round at the end. D. if. P. 14.
V. i. A. A.

Inhabits the Indian ocean.

Scomber Glaucus ? . Body compreffed: before the

dorfal fin a recumbent fliort fpine, pointing towards the head, and
two fimilar ones before it, concealed under the Ikin: a few of the
firft rays of the fpurious dorfal, and anal fins, thiee times as long
as thofe towards the tail, and black: tail much forked, the two

or three outer rays black. D. 6. 20. P. 20. V. 5* 3*

Common to the Atlantic ocean ; and the Mediterranean fea.

Scomber . Body very comprefied, and deep towards

the head, but narrows very much towards the tail: a fhort fpine
before the dorfal fin, pointing towards the head : near the tail a
black fpot: tail forked. D. 8. iV. P. 18. V« 5* At 2, tt«

Taken amongft the Caribee Ifiands.

Scomber . . Body pretty deep and comp re fifed, and

marked with broad dufky tranfverfe bands: a fhort fpine before
the dorfial fin, pointing towards the head: lateral line curved for
half its Length, the remainder ftraight and covered with large
tranfverfe fcaley plates, furnifhed in the middle with a fpine: tail
forked. D. 8. A. P. 14. V. 5. A. 2. tt.

Taken among the Caribee I (lands.

T r i g l a cataphraCta % . . Head large, boney and

rugged: nofe long and forked: body covered with a boney cruft ;
(lender; octangular ; the ridges ferrated; two appendages to the
throat. D. 27. P. 11. V. 6. A. 20,

Inhabits the Mediterranean feas.

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Testudo Mydas
R ana Arborea.
Coluber doliatus.
Exocoetus volitans.

err

line 4.

A T A.

for broke read broken.

from the bottom, for feeds read feed.

from the bottom, for o<vicviperous read oviperous*

for Exocetus read Exocoetus.

for This read Thefe.

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