THE SPAROID FAMILY. 221 



otherwise be desired. Our dependence, on the contrary, will 

 be chiefly on our own resources; so that we shall not give 

 any figure or descrijJtions of the members of this family, even 

 to the risk of an omission, except of such as have fallen under 

 our own inspection: or if in any case a reference is made to 

 another writer, it will be in such a manner that the borrowed 

 matter may be easily separated from our own. 



The fishes of this family are classed together as thoracic 

 fishes by Linnaeus, and both the Swedish naturalist and Cuvier 

 have included in it the genera Dentex and Mcena, which we 

 have followed the example of Dr. Gunther by placing in a 

 sejjarate family. 



