APLURITS SIMPLEX. 123 



The flesh when cooked is delicately white, and flaky ; bnt soft and 

 insipid : and both before and after it is dressed, abounds, as if it had 

 been steeped, in a pure limpid oil, which is not, however, at all rank 

 or strong in taste. On this account, and from the unsightly colour of 

 its skin, and general coarseness, it is but rarely seen at English tables : 

 and, eaten incautiously, it is moreover said to cause speedy diarrhoea. It 

 may, however, certainly be eaten moderately with impunity : and the 

 effect in question is sometimes ascribed to a peculiar oiliness or richness 

 in the bones. Dogs are, indeed, affected violently for some time, ap- 

 parently by feeding chiefly on the bones and skin : but in any case the 

 effect seems merely that of a strong dose of oil ; being unaccompanied 

 with any other symptoms. 



The Portuguese name, Escolar, or Chicolar, seems, in allusion to this 

 property, to be corrupted or derived from assacolar, a^acolar, or a^i- 

 colar, a word of Spanish origin, which signifies to scour or burnish ; and 

 particularly gun-barrels or weapons ; for though disguised to the eye 

 by the usual spelling, it is scarcely so at all in pronunciation. The 

 more obvious supposition of identity between the name Escolar and the 

 common Portuguese word signifying a scholar or student, fails altogether 

 to explain the origin or reason of its application to the present fish. But 

 taken in the sense of Scour-fish, according to the etymology proposed, 

 there may be found in the properties above described, and in the file or 

 sand-paper-like roughness of the skin, at least a plausible solution of the 

 matter. 



The generic name Aplurus, Plain-tail, is composed of a-TrXovg., plain 

 or simple, and ovpa, a tail ; in contradistinction to Tetragonurus, Square- 

 tail. There is, indeed, a pecvdiar general plainness or simplicity, both 

 of form and colour, in this fish ; contrasting strongly with the elaborate 

 details of structure, and the gaudy hues of the Scorptenida^. This is, 

 however, strictly in accordance with its natural alliance to the Mackerel- 

 tribe (Scovibrido') ; of which it is a genuine representative. 



Shape oblong, compressed throughout, not much attenuated towards the tail, 

 and of nearly equal depth from the eyes to the origin of the second dorsal or the 

 anal fin ; but deepest at the nape or shoulders, vv^here the depth is one sixth part 

 of the whole length : the thickness is also greatest from the eyes to the same part, 

 and equals half the depth. From the origin of the second dorsal and the anal fins 

 the lines of the back and belly slightly converge in an equal degree : but tlie 

 fleshy base of the tail is not slender, but thickish and subcylindric, and its depth 

 is one fourth part of the depth at the shoulders. It also retains more or less of 

 compression, being scarcely so thick as deep ; and it is perfectly simple, without 

 any lateral keel or crests. The ventral line from the ventral fins to the vent, 

 which is situated close before the anal fin, is sharp or carinate, and irregularly and 

 obsoletely serrulate. 



The head is large, remarkably compact, plain, and unarmed, with flat and even 

 sides ; yet with a heavy and clumsy look, at least compared with Prometheus, 



