PLAIN BONITO. 161 



purchased for Mr. Groves, of Bond Street, and botli were 

 most kindly sent to me for my use, from the interest taken 

 in the History of our British Fishes, where the appearance 

 of this species on our coast is now recorded for the first time. 

 This fish is closely allied to the Tunnies and Bonitos, 

 but has, with some others, been separated by Baron Cuvier 

 and M. Valenciennes on account principally of the great 

 space between the two dorsal fins, in which they resemble the 

 Mackerel, and also for their very minute teeth. 



According to MM. Cuvier and Valenciennes, the various 

 species of Tunnies and Bonitos were not clearly understood 

 by the older writers on Ichthyology, and the present fish was 

 not distinguished as a species till the publication of the works 

 of M. Rafinesque and M. Risso, the first at Palermo, and 

 the second in Paris, and both in the year 1810. M. Risso 

 and M. Laurillard say this fish at Nice is called Bonito. In 

 the great French work on the Natural History of Egypt, it 

 is called Maquereau unicolor, and in reference to its plain 

 and uniform colour, as contrasted with the Striped and Belted 

 Bonitos, which precede it in this work, I have therefore 

 called it the Plain Bonito. 



The flesh of this fish is but little esteemed when fresh, and 

 it is therefore immediately either salted or pickled ; some 

 expedition in this process is necessary as the flesh decomposes 

 rapidly, and the fish becomes of a dark colour, almost black, 

 if kept three or four days without any attempt being made 

 at preservation. This I observed in one of the two speci- 

 mens I received, which did not come to my hands till several 

 days after the other. I found the flesh of both rather red in 

 colour, and more solid or meat-like, than the flesh of fish in 

 general ; and neither when fresh boiled, or afterwards when 

 pickled, could I consider it better than a very coarse bad 

 Mackerel. 



In the Mediterranean this Bonito is taken with the Tunny 



VOL. I. M 



