ARGENTINE. 163 



amongst the various bodies cast up by the water, and ob- 

 served it lying entangled in some sea-weed, which had been 

 accumulated in masses, and left by the retiring tide. The 

 fish was dead; but from its freshness could not long have 

 been so. 



" In the Animal Kingdom of Cuvier, translated by Grif- 

 fith, we have the following description of the genus : 



" Scopelus, Cuv. Serpes of Risso. 



" ' Mouth and gills extremely cleft ; the two jaws fur- 

 nished with very small teeth ; the edge of the upper entirely 

 formed by the intermaxillaries ; the tongue and palate smooth. 

 Their muzzle is very short and obtuse : there are nine or 

 ten rays to the gills ; and besides the usual dorsal, which 

 corresponds to the interval of the ventrals, and the anal, 

 there is another very small one behind, in which the vestiges 

 of rays are perceptible.' 



" ' These fishes are caught in the Mediterranean, inter- 

 mingled with the Anchovies, and they are there called Me- 

 lettes, as are other small fishes. One of them, the Serpes 

 Humboldtii, Risso, pi. x. fig. 38, is remarkable for the bril- 

 liancy of the silvery points which are distributed along the 

 body and tail.' 



" Then in a note we have, ' I believe this fish to be the 

 pretended Argentina sphyrana of Pennant's Brit. Zool. 

 No. 156 ; therefore it should be found in our part of the 

 Atlantic.' 



" Besides the Scopelus Humboldtii, which probably is 

 identical with the species under description, there are two 

 other species, viz. Serpes (Scopelus) crocodile, Risso, p. 357, 

 and Serpes (Scopelus) balbo, Id. Ac. des Sc. de Turin, tome 

 xxv. pi. x. fig. 3. 



" Pennant's description agrees, in many respects, with my 

 fish ; but as the figure contained in Mr. Yarrell's work, 



M 2 



