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ously from corruption. This name centriscus, which has re- 

 lation to needles or spines ((cevrpov), its diminutive termina- 

 tion, which indicates a small size, its habitation in the fresh 

 water, and finally, this fabulous origin, which many writers of 

 the middle ages have attributed to our sticlde-back, have 

 caused it to be believed, that the latter might probably be the 

 centriscus ; and Klein has, consequently, determined to give 

 the name of centriscus to the genus. 



M. Cuvier positively declares, that in the waters of France 

 there are two sorts of stickle-backs with three rays. To fol- 

 low him through his long and minute description of these, 

 would be quite beyond our present purpose. The species 

 which Linnaeus calls pungitius is one-third smaller than the 

 common stickle-back, and there dwells no fish on the coasts 

 of our sea of such small dimensions. It scarcely weighs half 

 au ounce. The dwarf Atherina of Risso, is alone below this 

 size, if, indeed, it be not the young of a larger species. 



There are many of the smaller stickle-backs in the streams 

 of England. Ray particularly mentions those of the county 

 of Warwick. In general the species is not less spread in 

 Europe, than that with three spines. It appears, that it is 

 also found in the saltwater; but the denomination given it 

 by Bloch of small sea stickle-back, is not the less improper. 

 The vulgar names are generally the same as those of the large 

 stickle-back, with some epithet which marks its smallness. 

 The Russians name it Kolinska. 



The oreosoma is another of the strangely figured beings 

 which might rather be taken for the monstrous production of 

 a morbid imagination than for a reality existing in nature. 

 Let us represent to ourselves a small fish, as high as broad, 

 bristling with thick cones like sugar-loaves, and we may begin 

 to form some notion of the oreosoma, or mountainous fish ; for 

 this is the signification of its name (from awfia, a body, and 



