200 ACANTHOPTERYGII. MACKEREL FAMILY. 



dark grey, except the anal, which was tinged with 

 yellow. The weight of this fish, according to M. 

 Risso, who, as well as M. Rafinesque, recognised it 

 as a distinct species in the Mediterranean, never 

 exceeds 61bs. ; the female is somewhat larger than 

 the male, and spawns in August, the ova being 

 white and encrusted with a reddish albuminous 

 covering. Its flesh, of a deep red colour, is said to 

 he sour to the taste, and to be very indigestible, be- 

 coming very dark when exposed to the air. The 

 intertropical parts of the Atlantic sustain many 

 Bonitoes, so closely corresponding to the one un- 

 der review, that they cannot be distinguished. 

 They have been transmitted to Paris from Marti- 

 nique, where they are called Thon^ and where they 

 are caught of enormous dimensions, d!une grosseur 

 enorme. 



Gen. XXV. Xiphias. — This genus is nearly 

 allied to the foregoing by its small scales, its keeled 

 and powerful tail, and its internal organization ; it 

 has only one dorsal fin, and the ventrals are wanting. 

 Its distinctive character consists in its long beak, 

 spear-shaped, forming a powerful weapon, where- 

 with it attacks the largest marine animals; it is 

 composed principally of the vomer and intermaxil- 

 lary bones, and is strengthened at its base by the 

 ethmoid, frontal, and maxillary bones ; the gills are 

 not pectinated, but formed of two great parallel 

 lamina3, with reticulated surfaces. The rapidity of 

 these fish is excessive, and the quality of their flesh 

 excellent. There are various sub-g^enera, the first 



