126 H^MULON ARCUATUM. 



of paler colour at the sides, and each scale is marked with a gilded spot ; the dor- 

 sal fin is semi-transparent, with dusky shades ; the soft dorsal, ventral, pectoral, 

 and anal fins have a bluish tint, more or less evident. 



Splanchnology. The peritoneum is dusky, or even black in places. The liver is large, and may 

 almost be said to consist of but two lobes, so small is their transverse or communicating portion ; 

 the left lobe is large, broad, flat, extends two thirds the length of the abdomen, and has its upper 

 and lower margins thin and sharp ; it sends forward one large process, above and behind the 

 cornu of the air-bladder, and another small process or lobe extends into a small cavity in front of 

 the cornu ; the right lobe, though smaller and thinner than the left, is longer, and extends nearly 

 to the vent ; it is sub-triquetrous in form, its superior margin being rounded ; it has a small prolon- 

 gation in front of the cornu of the air-bladder, and one behind it, as in the right lobe, only it is less 

 developed ; ijear the posterior third of the belly the lobe becomes flattened, with sharp margins, 

 and has sometimes a fold, like an additional lobo. The gall-bladder is elongated, sub-pyriform, 

 with a long cystic duct, which is finely reticulated on its inner surface. The stomach is rather 

 small, nairow, sub-oval, less in size than the oesophagus, and pointed behind ; its walls are toler- 

 ably thick, and its mucous membrane has numerous longitudinal folds, which are, however, not 

 permanent ; its pyloric branch is short, and goes off near the cardia ; there is a remarkable pyloric 

 contraction. Tne small intestine is of rather large calibre, but has thin walls, and its mucous mem- 

 brane is beautifully reticulated ; it runs at first backwards for two thirds the length of the abdomen ; 

 it is then reflected to the base of the pylorus, whence it returns to end in the rectum, which is long, 

 and has a well-developed rectal valve ; its walls are thicker than those of the small intestine ; and 

 its mucous membrane is more reticulated than that of the large intestine generally. There are 

 seven slender concal appendages, but of unequal length, as some are short, and others are longer 

 than the stomach. The spleen is short, oblong, tolerably thick along its mesial line, but with its 

 margins compressed and thin. The air-bladder is large, oblong, broad in front, where there is a 

 short projection forwards in its middle, and two equally short horns on each side ; it is pointed be- 

 hind, and adheres firmly to the bodies of the vertebrae in front. The testicles are large, sub-trian- 

 gular, and long, extending even in the unfilled state more than half the length of the abdomen. The 

 kidneys are small, flat, and widely separated before to allow the air-bladder space to be in contact 

 with the vertebral column ; yet they unite and terminate about the posterior fourth of the abdomen ; 

 the urinary bladder is very large, oblong, and has thick walls. 



Habits. But little more is known of the habits of the Black Grunt, than that 

 it lives in the deepest waters, and that fragments of shells and portions of smaller 

 fishes are often found in its stomach. 



