226 ORDER ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



their spinous dorsal long, but very low ; the soft one 

 approximated to it, shorter but higher ; the anal cor- 

 responds to the latter; the ventrals are at a little dis- 

 tance behind the pectorals ; the branches of the lower 

 jaw, which are raised vertically, and provided with a 

 range of cutting pointed teeth, forming a kind of saw, 

 are enclosed when the mouth is shut by those of the 

 upper one. There is also a small series of pointed 

 teeth in each palatine, and two in the vomer. Their 

 stomach is fleshy and folded, their coeca numerous, 

 and their intestine long. The oesophagus is furnished 

 internally with hard and pointed papillae. 



Tetrag. Cuvier'i, Risso, Conrpata, or Corbeau of the 

 Mediterranean coast, is the only species known, and 

 is never taken except in very deep water. It is a foot 

 long, and black, the scales hard, deeply striate, and 

 indented. The flesh is said to be poisonous ! . 



I also place between the mugiloides and the gobi- 

 oides a genus, which does not completely harmonize 

 with any other. It is the 



Atherina, Lin. 



The body elongated ; two dorsals widely separated ; 

 the ventrals further back than the pectorals ; the 

 mouth highly protractile, and furnished with very 

 minute teeth ; a broad silvery band along each flank 

 on all the known species. There are six rays in the 



1 There is no good figure of it. Mugil niger, Rondel. 423. Corvus 

 niloticus, Aldrov., Pise. 010. Risso, Ed. i. pi. x. f. 37. 



