122 SCOMBRID.E, 



to consist in certain characters possessed in common with Tctragoniiriis, 

 and which are truly, as, indeed, it was remarked at tlie time, Scom bridal. 

 This led, however, to a recognition subsequently of the proper situation 

 of both fishes near Thyrsites, Cuv., and of their relative generic dif- 

 ferences : for the peculiar structure of the shin seemed to demand the 

 proposal of a third genus, Aplurus, distinct from both Thyrsites and 

 Tetragonurus, for the reception of my former Tetragomirtis f simplex. 

 And though more recently, through inattention to the carinate abdomen, 

 I was led to abandon this view, and to propose its union with Thyrsites, 

 Cuv., by the name of Thyrsites acanthoderma^ fuller consideration of 

 the value of this character in its combination here with that of the peculiar 

 structure of the shin, makes me revert to my earlier opinion, and retain 

 Aplurus as a genus properly distinguished from Thyrsites, Cuv. 



The Prince of Musignano, taking the same view, has in the mean- 

 time, I am informed by Miss Young, published an admirable figure of the 

 fish in his Fauna Italica, under the name of Ruvettus pretiosus : which, 

 although unaccompanied with the descriptive characters, she recognised 

 immediately. I regret my inability to refer with more precision to this 

 valuable and important Avork. This would appear also to be the fish 

 from Teneriffe, alluded to by M. Valenciennes in the Preface to the 

 Tenth Volume of the Histoire des Puissons as the " Rovetto [Rovettus 

 acanthodermay of the Mediterranean. The name Escolar occurs, more- 

 over, in a list of Teneriffe fishes by Mr. Diston, a resident and highly 

 intelligent observer in that island. It is found again in several passages 

 of the Historia Insula7ia,* indicating the principal fishes of the Azores. 



Although this fish has thus been evidently taken in the Mediterranean, 

 it would appear to be in that sea but a rare and casual visitor : for it has 

 escaped the notice not only of the older naturalists of the Sixteenth Cen- 

 tury, but of Risso, Rafinesque, Laroche, and many others, who have re- 

 cently so diligently laboured in this field. In Madeira, on the other 

 hand, it is a common well-known species ; which, if less abundant at any 

 season than many other fishes, is yet altogether absent from the market 

 long at none. Its capture is, however, so far dependent on the season, 

 that being taken only in deep water, and at a considerable distance from 

 the shore, it is not caught except in fine and steady weather. It is taken 

 with an ordinary bait, at a depth (the fishermen affirm) of from twelve to 

 fourteen linhas-\ ; living habitually near the bottom, in company with the 

 Cherne (Polyprion cernhim^ Val.), Coellio {Prometheus atlanticus), &c. 

 It is sold in the market in pieces or slices by the pound; and the tail 

 end is the most esteemed. Large fishes are said to weigh from twenty 

 to thirty pounds, measuring about five feet in length. 



* Ilibtoria Iiisulana das Ilhas, pelo Padro Antonio Cordcyro ; Fol". Lisboa, 1717. 

 + Each linfia, or line, is from twenty-five to thirty fathoms {brofas) long. 



