90 ACANTHOPTERYGII. SCI^NAD^. 



glassy substance, branching from a central one 

 like the veins of a leaf; these lines correspond 

 with indentations in the outline. 



When alive in the water, the Gurnards are 

 described as being very beautiful ; the gay hues 

 with which they are generally adorned possessing 

 a glittering brilliancy heightened by the trans- 

 parency of the element through which they are 

 seen ; more particularly in the rays of the sun, 

 when every motion and every turn brings out 

 some new play of colour or flash of radiance. 



Family Y. SciiENADiE. 



( Maigres.) 



The Maigres are an extensive Family, in- 

 cluding, according to the Prince of Canino's esti- 

 mate in 1831, two hundred and thirty one 

 species ; but now considered by the same Zoolo- 

 gist to contain but one hundred and sixty five. 

 Of this large number, four only are found in the 

 European seas, and two are British. The tro- 

 pical parts of the Atlantic, including the West 

 Indian Seas, are the great home of the Family ; 

 some are found in the Indian Ocean, but scarcely 

 a single species in the Pacific. 



In many respects the Maigres resemble the 

 Perches ; the operculum is armed with spines, 

 and the pre-operculum is cut into notches like 

 the teeth of a saw : they have strong teeth, but 

 none in either the vomer or the palate, where 

 the Perches are furnished with them ; the muz- 

 zle is thickened and obtuse ; the mouth compara- 

 tively small ; the back much arched ; the tail 



