UMBRINA ALBURNUS. 141 



New York, and published an excellent memoir on the fishes of that neighbourhood 

 in a Berlin journal.* He described a fish under the name of Whiting, and his 

 description is good, even to the barbel at the chin ; but he errs in supposing it to 

 be more abundant along the shores of Carolina and Florida, and still more in 

 supposing it to be identical with the Perca aVownus of Linnseus. 



Dr. Mitchill's account of Schoepff's animal is next in order, and may be seen in 

 the Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York. His 

 description, at least so far as regards the external forms, is accurate, and is accom- 

 panied by a tolerably good figure ; but unacquainted with the memoir of SchoepfF, 

 which is exceedingly rare in this country, he supposed it to be an undescribed 

 species, and called it Scicena nehulosa, which specific name has the right of 

 priority. 



Some years subsequently, Cuvier and Valenciennes, in their great work, Histoire 

 Nafurelle des Poissons, gave so full and accurate an account of this animal, as to 

 leave nothing to be desired ; but they committed the same mistake as Schoepfi", in 

 describing it as identical with the Poxa (Umbrina) alhiirnus of Linnseus, or 

 "VMiiting of Carolina. That their description was taken from the Umbrina 

 nehulosa, and not our animal, is evident from the description itself; thus they 

 say, — "The first dorsal has its third ray prolonged in a long point, which 

 surpasses by one third the elevation of the body beneath it " ; f which is never 

 the case in the Carolina Wliitin^. 



'a' 



Dr. Storcr, in his excellent Report on the Fishes of Massachusetts, receives at 

 first the King-fish as a distinct species, Umbrina nehulosa of Mitchill, or Whiting 

 of Schoepfi" ; but in his Sjaiopsis of North American Fishes, he follows the exam- 

 ple of Cuvier and Valenciennes in supposing the Umbrina nebulosa and Umbrina 

 alburnus to be identical. 



• Schriften von der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde, zu Berlin. 



f "La premiere dorsale a son troisieme rayon prolonge en une pointe qui surpasse d'un tiers la hauteur 

 du corps au-dessous d'elle." 



