ACANTH0PTERYGI1. 279 



found in all the European seas, from twelve to fifteen inches 

 long. It is extremely voracious, but feeds principally on the 

 Crustacea, and comes into shoal water in the months of May 

 and June to deposit its eggs. Though this fish is not much 

 esteemed by epicures it is nevertheless good eating, and is 

 considered easy of digestion. 



T. lyra, belonging to this genus, is described in the text. 

 It is called the piper, in consequence of a sort of hissing it 

 makes by the expulsion of the air through the gills when 

 taken. 



T. hirundo, called also the tub-jish, and by Pennant the 

 Sapphirine gurnard, is found in the North Sea, and occa- 

 sionally in the Baltic and the Mediterranean, and also about 

 the Cape of Good Hope and the coasts of Southern Africa. 

 It swims very rapidly, and inhabits at great depths of water 

 the greater part of the year. Its flesh is hard and little 

 esteemed, though it is salted for ships' provisions in the 

 north. The older naturalists have called it the sea crow, 

 from a noise emitted by it on being taken, which fancy has 

 assimilated to that of the crow. 



Another species, T. lucema, is so named from its shining 

 property in the dark. The grey gurnard, T. gurnardus, is 

 still more common on our coast than the red : it sometimes 

 attains three feet in length, and seems to have habits similar 

 to those of the red. 



The celebrated flying fish l , T. volitans, Lin., whose appear- 

 ance above the surface of the water furnishes an event to 

 break the monotony of a long voyage, especially to mere 

 passengers, is found in almost all the intertropical seas, and 

 abounds also in the Mediterranean. 



The distinguishing characters which have induced its se- 



1 This name is applied to other species, as, for instance, the Exoccctus 

 mesogaster, one of the Malacopterygii abdominales. 



13 



