166 MtJGILlDE. 



(Athcn. Z. 77. p. 667), whilst by Risso, and the Prince of Musignano, 

 the M. auralus is preferred to the more common sorts, — if we may 

 judge from other instances of ancient taste in these matters, there may 

 not after all be much discrepancy between the Greek and modern authors, 

 except in their attaching opposite senses to the terms good and bad eat- 

 ing. In the absence of an opportunity to form a comparative estimate 

 with other species, I can only add, that the Madeiran fish is not ap- 

 preciably better, although reported by the fishermen to be so, than the 

 common M. corrngatus ; and, indeed, the two are indistinguishable by 

 the taste. Its fry, abounding on the shore, and in the estuary of the 

 river at Machico, equally with that of M. corrugatus^ is alike excellent, 

 when fried entire, without removing anything except the scales. 



I have never yet been able to detect amidst the multitudes examined 

 of the fry of these two species, varying from four to eight or nine inches 

 in length, any fish clearly answering to the M. saliens of Risso ; dis- 

 tinguished principally, according to MM. Cuvicr and Valenciennes, " par- 

 ceque son sous-orbitaire a sur le bord antcrieur une echancrure bicn 

 marquee, dans laquellc est recu Tangle du maxillaire plie en chevron, 

 et qui laisse voir, meme dans Fetat de repos, le bout de cet os derriere 

 la commissure." * How^evcr, from what has gone before, this latter part 

 of the character loses its distinctive value : and the Prince of Musignano 

 seems indeed not to have distinguished this M. saliens specifically from 

 the M. aurahis.-f 



The Madeiran M. auratus will be best described by continual com- 

 parison with the common Grey Mullet {M. corrugatus) of the island. 



It is a more shallow oblong elongated graceful fish in shape ; being especially 

 more slender or drawn out towards the setting-on of the caudal fin, which is 

 itself also more spreading, forked, and shapely. The back is altogether lower 

 and straighter, or more horizontal, and much flatter between the top of the 

 head or nape and the first dorsal fin ; instead of being convex, and tending to 

 a ridge, as in the common rough-lipped sort : whilst on the other hand the belly 

 is more arched or prominent. The head is smaller, and the muzzle shorter: 

 hence the eye appears set rather forwarder, and it is smaller than in M. cor- 

 rugatus. The space between the eyes is flat, and scarcely exceeds in width 

 twice and a half their diameter. There is a most marked distinction in the 

 upper lip, which is smaller, narrower, and thinner than in the sort just named, 

 and quite smooth and even ; wanting entirely the fleshy ridges, plaits, or cor- 

 rugations on its lower part, which are so remarkable in M. corrugates ; and 

 its edge is very distinctly pectinate or ciliated, even in the smallest-sized in- 

 dividuals, by a row of fine soft bristly points or teeth, partly as it were im- 

 bedded in its substance. In M. corrugatus the upper lip or muzzle is protruded 

 to its full extent by merely drawing down the lower ia\v : in M. auratus it is not, 

 perhaps, less capable of equal protrusion, but can scarcely in the same way be 



* Cuv. et Val.IIist. xi. y. 47. t Sec Cuv. et Val. xi. \\ 4(i, note. 



