Sci.ena. FISHES. ACANTHOPT. 213 



142. P.Jhiviatilis. Common Perch. — Opercle with one spine : 



the first dorsal fin longer than the second. 



Perca, Merr. Pin. 190. Sibb. Scot. 25 — P. fluv. Will. Ich. 291. Linn. 

 Syst. i. 481. Penn. Brit. Zoo\. iii. 254 — In lakes and pools. 



Length about a foot. Back arched, greenish-black, sides with five trans- 

 verse black bands ; belly reddish-white, ventral, anal, and caudal fins, red. 

 Irides golden. 1. D. li, 2. D. ]*, P. 12, V. |, A. §. Tail lunate. Spawns 

 in June — This fish is occasionally found in estuaries, having been carried by 

 floods from its ordinary haunts. 



143. P. Labrax. Basse. — Opercle with two spines : dorsal 

 fins of equal length. 



Lupus Rondeletii, Will. Ich. 271 — Perca Lab. Linn. Syst. i. 482. Penn. 

 Brit. Zool. iii. 257. Don. Brit. Fishes, t. xliii. — On the coast, and in 

 estuaries, not frequent. 



Length 18 inches. Body oblong, bluish-black above, silvery below. Nos- 

 trils with two continuous circular openings. Irides clouded silvery. 1. D. 9, 

 2. D. Vi P. 18, V. i, A. 'gS C. 18, slightly forked. Stomach with a process 

 and three pyloric caeca ; intestine with one fold. 



Gen. LXXIII. SCIjENA.— Snout produced, scaly. Pre- 

 opercle dentated, opercle spinous. 



144. S. Aquila. — Scales large, oblique, silvery: dorsal, pecto- 

 ral, and ventral fins, red. 



Cuv. Regne An. ii. 298 — Perca Vanloo, Risso, Ich. Nice. p. 298. t. UC. 

 f. 30 — Zetland. 



Length above 3 feet. Nose rounded ; jaws equal. Teeth separate, sharp, 

 hooked. Irides golden. 1st D. 10, 2d 27; P. 17; V. i ; A. f ; c. 20. The 

 anal fin is small, and the tail is even. M. Cuvier states, that the air-bag is 

 large, with numerous lateral processes. — A specimen of this fish, caught 

 off' Uyea in Northmavine, Zetland, in November 1819, and which was sent 

 to Mr Neill in 1820, is the only example of its appearance on our shores. 

 This specimen was 5 feet 4 inches in length : lateral line nearly straight, and 

 at its termination at the tail forming a strong central scaly ray in that organ. 

 Scales on the back large, 3 to 4 inches in circumference ; of an irregular 

 trapezoidal form, set on obliquely to the axis of the body. It was first ob- 

 served by the fishermen endeavouring to escape from a seal. When taken 

 into the boat, it made its usual purring sort of noise. Mr Neill has record- 

 ed, (Edin. New Phil. Journ. No. I.) some notices respecting the capture, and 

 the appearances exhibited by the specimen, which came into his possession in 

 too mutilated a state to permit him to give its characters in detail. It is 

 common in the Mediterranean. Is this the fish referred to by Mr Couch as 

 the Stone Basse, which approaches the shores of Cornwall, following pieces of 

 wood covered with Bernacles? — Linn. Trans, xiv. 81. 



Gen. LXXIV. TRACHINUS. Weaver.— Body length- 

 ened; head compressed. 1 spine on the opercle; 2 in 

 front of the eye : dorsal and anal fins long. 



145. T. Draco. Common Weaver. — Pectorals and tail 

 rounded. Head ascending. 



