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FIRST SERIES. OSSEOUS FISHES. 



FIRST SUBDIVISION. OSSEOUS FISHES 

 WITH SPINOUS RAYS. 



ORDER I. SPINOUS- FINNED FISHES. ACANTHOP- 

 TRRYGII. 



The Spinous-fixned Order of Fishes, decidedly 

 the most highly organized of the whole Class, is 

 also by far the most numerous, probably exceeding in 

 amount of species all the others put together. All 

 the Fishes belonging to it are recognizable by their 

 fins, spinous rays being supplied to the anterior part 

 of the dorsal, whether there be one, or more than 

 one ; and sometimes the spines are free, having no 

 connecting membrane : the anal fin also has its first 

 rays spinous ; and very frequently there is one such 

 in each ventral fin. In Cuvier s arrangement, in- 

 cluding the Fishes of the waters of every region and 

 clime, there are fifteen families comprehended in 

 this Order, twelve of which have representatives in 

 the British Fauna. Without further preface, we 

 commence with the Family of Perches, whose his- 

 tory, it may be remembered, formed the subject of 

 the First Volume of our Ichthyological Series : in 

 dwelling upon the British species, we shall avoid 

 every thing like repetition, and hence its consider- 

 ation will not so lonjjf detain us- 



