ACANTHOPTERYGII. 357 



than fifteen or sixteen pounds. Tt preys upon timid fish when 

 they approach the shores to deposit or to fecundate their eggs. 

 It is very bold, extremely voracious, and pounces with avidity 

 on all kinds of baits. Its flesh, very delicate, was a viand in 

 great estimation as far back as the time of Pliny, who informs 

 us that the inhabitants of Cadiz preferred it to all other fishes. 

 Before the time of Pliny, Columella, who was a native of that 

 city, has mentioned that the name of zens had for a long time 

 been given to this animal, which would seem to indicate a 

 high degree of pre-eminence, Zzvq signifying in Greek the 

 monarch of the gods. 



Kurtus is a genus established by Bloch, and so named 

 from the Greek word Kvprog, hump-backed. The type is 

 the species Kurtus Indicus. This fish, which exhibits very 

 marked relations with stromateus, lives in the Indian Seas, 

 where it feeds on crabs and testaceous mollusca. Its ex- 

 terior is magnificent. Its scales resemble plates of silver. 

 The iris of the eye is of a golden hue ; the back is ornamented 

 with golden spots ; four black spots are situated near the 

 dorsal fin. The pectoral fins reflect the colour of gold, and 

 are edged with red. The other fins are of yellow edged with 

 black. 



The word Coryph^ena is derived from the Greek Kopw^rj 

 (vertex, the top of the head) the manner in which the vertex 

 is raised into a crest in these fishes being one of their most 

 remarkable characters. 



The Corypluena hippurus, is a magnificent fish,, which 

 lives in almost all the seas of warm and even of temperate 

 climates. It loses its colours with life. It is found in the 

 Great Equatorial Ocean, so improperly termed the Pacific 

 Ocean, in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. As it is very 

 common in South America, the French have sometimes called 

 it the Dorade d'Amerique, but it must be carefully dis- 



