MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES. 315 



the sides of the tinder-jaw, a row of Ion? and pointed teeth. The muzzle is oblong, obtuse, broad, and depressed. 

 They have but one dorsal placed over the anal; a lanje forward stomach, continued in a slender intestine with 

 two flexures, but without coeca ; and their air-bladder is very large. 



E. lucius, the Common Pike, Jack, Pickarel, Gedd, and many other names, is well known to every one as the 

 most voracious and destructive of fishes, but its tlesh is good, and easy of digestion. [Besides its fame, as an eater 

 and as being eaten, Shakspeare has thrown a ray of glory around the Pike by representing it as the " White Lucie"' 

 in the armorial bearings of the immortal Justice Shallow. In some of the still waters of Britain, Pike of thirty- 

 four pounds' weight have been killed. It is generally said that, notwithstanding the havoc which the Pike com- 

 mits among smaller fishes, it will not stand the attack of a Trout of equal weight, the immense velocity of the 

 latter fish in swimming giving it a decided advantage]. Besides this, two species have been noticed in the i 

 waters of Ninth America,— E. reticularis, with a net-work of brownish lines; and E. estur, sprinkled with round 

 blackish spots. 



Galtixius, have no visible scales on the body. The opening of the mouth is small, with middle-sized pointed 

 teeth in both jaws, the margin of the upper being formed by the intermaxillary, and a few strong crooked teeth on 

 the tongue. There are pores in the sides of the head; and the position of the dorsal and anal tins, and also the 

 digestive organs, are like thr se of the Pikes. 



Alepocep/ialus. Head naked, body with broad scales, mouth small, teeth minute and crowded, eyes very large, 

 and eight gill-rays. A. rottratut, the only known species, is found in the depths of the Mediterranean. 



Microstoma. Snout very short, lower jaw beyond the upper, jaws and intermaxillaries with very small teeth, 

 three broad and flat gill-rays, eyes large, body long, lateral line with firm scales, a single dorsal a little in rear of 

 the ventrals, and digestive organs as in the Pike. The only known species (IS. microstoma of Itisso) inhabits the 

 Mediterranean. 



Stomias. Snout extremely short, mouth cleft almost to the gills, gill-ray reduced to a little membranous 

 lamina, and mamillaries fixed in the cheek ; intermaxillaries, palatals, mandibles, and tongue, armed with long and 

 crooked teeth, widely set; body elongated; ventrals far back; dorsal over the anal, and both near the caudal. Two 

 species were discovered in the Mediterranean by Risso. Both are black, with rows of silvery -pots on the belly. 

 E. boa, Risso, has no cirri ; .V. barbatu*, has a Ion? and stout one, attached to the symphisis of the lower jaw. 



ChttUliodut, resemble the former, but have two teeth in each jaw, across the other jaw when the mouth is shut; 

 the dorsal between the pectorals and ventrals, which last are not so far back as in Stomias ; the first dorsal ray 

 terminates in a filament. C. Sloani, the only known species, has been found only at Gibraltar. It is about a foot 

 and a half long, and of a deep green colour. 



Satan.r, have the head depressed, gill-lids folded downwards, and four flat gill-rays ; the jaws short and pointed, 

 each furnished with a row of crooked teeth; the upper jaw formed entirely by intermaxillaries without peduncles; 

 the lower jaw is a little lengthened at the symphisis by a small appendage carrying the teeth; the palate and the 

 inner part of the mouth are entirely smooth, and there is not even a lingual projection. 



Belone. This genus have the upper jaw — which, as well as the under one, is extended into a long beak— com- 

 posed of the intermaxillaries, and both jaws furnished with small teeth, without any others in the mouth, except 

 in the pharynx, where they are arranged like a pavement. The body is very long, and covered with scales which 

 are scarcely visible, except one keeled row on each side, near the under edge of the fish. They are remarkable for 

 the bright green colour of their bones. One species — the Common Gar-fish, Sea Pike, Mackerel Guide, Gre sn- 

 bone, and a number of other names — is not uncommon on some parts of the British shores, and as tar north as 

 the Arctic regions. It is of a greenish blue on the upper part, fading gradually into silvery white on the belly. 

 There are several other species, some of which are said to attain the length of eight feet, and lute very severely. 

 Notwithstanding the colour of the hones, which renders them repulsive to many persons, the icse fishes 



is not unwholesome. 



Seomberetox, the Mackerel Pike, or Saury Pike, resembles the former in the length of its snout, its general 

 shape, and its scales; but the last rays Of the dorsal and anal are detached, and form spurious fins on the upper 



an. I under sides, like those of the Mackerel. They are found in the Mediterranean; [and the Comn Saurx is 



generally distributed along the British coasts, as far to the northward as the Orkneys], The] are gregarious 

 ■; and are followed and preyed upon by Porpoises, and also by the Tunny, and other I. je members of the 

 Mackerel fami \ . 



Hemiramphu*, resemble the Gar-fish in its general characters, but has the upper jaw shoi '. and the lower one 

 drawn out into a long beak, without teeth. They are found chiefly in the seas of warm countries, though a stray 

 one i- occasionally met with in the south of England. 



/ locetut, [literally, " Fishes out of the water"]. These are at once distinguished from all the rest of the At 

 in i 1 1 ;ii Bfalacopter] ^ii by the immense size of their pectoral fins, which are sufficiently large for supporting them 



fur a few moment! in the air. Their head and bodj are scaly, w ith a line el' kei ll d siales along each flank ; their 



i flat above, and laterally; the dorsal over the anal ; the eye is large; the in termi without pedui 



and found in the margin of the upper jaw ; both jaws have small pointed teeth, and the pharynx pavement teeth ; 

 tie > have ten gill-i air-bladder is very large; their intestine straight, and without caeca ; and the i 



I' the caudal tin much larger than the upper. 'I hey do not fly, in the Btricl SI Use of the term, but ne 



from the water to escape \erac ioua fishes, and soon fai; again, their fins merely serving as parachutes, and tx 

 incapable <'i taking a new stroke in the air, as is dene by a wing. The) are found in all tt the warm 



climates; and it would seem that they bave more enemies than most other fishes, for while the voracious fishes 

 pursue and cap! i in the water, the long-winged Bea-birds seize them in the air; and between themsi 



