222 ORDER. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



H 



amuse themselves by forcing it to crawl upon the 

 ground. In the markets of China the larger species 

 are cut up alive to distribute to the buyers \ 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 . 



The Mugiloides. 



Form the eleventh family of acanthopterygii, com- 

 posed of the genus 



Mugil, Lin. 



Which may, in fact, be considered as a distinct family, 

 as they present so many peculiarities in their organ- 

 ization. Their body is almost cylindrical, covered 

 with large scales, and furnished with fcvvo separate 

 dorsals, the first of which has but four spinous rays ; 

 theventrals are inserted a little behind the pectorals; 

 there are six rays in the branchiae ; their head is some- 

 what depressed, and covered with large scales or poly- 



1 This is most incontestably the genus alluded to by Theophrastus. 



2 Ophicephalus punctatus, Bl., or Oph. lata, Buchan. O. mar- 

 ginatus, Cuv., or 0. gachua, Buchan? pi. xxi. f. 21. or Cora motta, 

 Russell, ii. pi. clxiv. 0. auranticus, Buch. 



3 Ophicephalus striatus, Bl. 359. or Muttah, Russell, pi. clxii. or 

 0. chena, Buch.? 0. sola, Id. 0. sowara, Russ. 163. 



4 Ophicephalus marulius, Buch., which is the Bostrichoide ceille, 

 Lacep. II. xiv. 3. Oph. barca, Buch. xxxv. 20., to which the 

 Bostriche tachete, Lacep. iii. p. 143., is at least very closely allied, 

 and several new species to be described in our Ichthyology. 



