158 MALACOP. ABDOM. SALMON FAMILY. 



Gen. LXIX. Scopelcs. — This genus is defined 

 by Cuvier as having the gape and gill aperture very- 

 wide ; the two jaws furnished with very small teeth, 

 the margin of the upper formed entirely by the 

 intermaxillaries ; tongue and palate smooth : muzzle 

 very short and blunt; the gill rays nine or ten; 

 and besides the ordinary dorsal placed opposite the 

 centre of the space between the ventrals and anal, 

 there is a very small one behind, in which the ves- 

 tiges of rays can be traced. Of the latter, the adi- 

 pose fin, it may be remarked, that it is nearly 

 obsolete, scarcely any trace of it being perceptible. 



(Sp. 138.) ^S'. Humboldtii. The Argentine. This 

 resplendent little fish was first noticed as British 

 by Pennant, who describes it as the Sheppy Argen- 

 tine, and gives a good representation of it. It was 

 next found in Orkney by Mr. Lowe, and included 

 in his Fauna Orcadensis. It was afterwards picked 

 up on the shore near Exmouth ; and again in 1838, 

 ^ y Dr. TV. B. Clarke, on the shore at Portobello, 

 near Edinburgh. In all these cases only solitary 

 examples occurred; but last year Mr. Yarrell re- 

 ceived a specimen from Redcar, on the Yorkshire 

 coast, and was informed that a number of others 

 had been obtained from time to time in that quarter. 

 On comparing the figure of the specimen taken at 

 Portobello with that of the Yorkshire specimen, 

 and both with Pennant's figure, we cannot but feel 

 surprised that there should have been any doubt 

 about all the three belonging to the same species. 

 In general form and markings they are as like each 



