MUGIL CAPITO. 69 



the stomach from the intestine. There are about five short pyloric appen- 

 dages. The intestine forms many convolutions^ and in the species Mugil 

 chelo, variety septentrional is, was seven feet long in a fish measuring thirteen 

 inches. The liver has a large free gall-bladder. The ovaries are large and 

 long, and arranged in transverse laminae. There is a separate ovarian opening 

 behind the vent. The air-bladder is large and simple, and connected with 

 the abdominal muscles in front. The ]uibic bones are long and flat, and 

 connected with the coracoid by ligament. There are about eleven vertebra; 

 in the abdomen, and thirteen in the tail. The length of body in these regions 

 is nearly the same. 



The species number nearly seventy, besides others imperfectly defined. 

 The characters on which they are formed are the jiresence or absence of a 

 fatty eyelid on the posterior side of the iris, the thickness of the upper lip, 

 the number of rays in the anal fin, the number of scales in the lateral line, 

 the condition of the maxillary bone, the form of the snout, the proportions of 

 the body, and the position of the fins. 



The genera most nearly allied to Aliigil are Agonostoma, found in the 

 fresh waters of the West Indies, Central America, New Zealand, Australia, 

 Celebes, Mauritius, and the Comoro Islands, and Myxus, found on the coast of 

 Australia, the Pacific coast of Central and South America, and in the Island of 

 Ascension. 



Mugil capito (Cuvier).— Grey mullet. 



1 D. 4, ii D. 1/S^ A. 8/9. Scales : lat. line 4.5, trans. If. 



The Grey Mullet of England is widely distributed on the coasts of Europe 

 and Africa, reaching as far south as the Cape of Good Hope. It is common in 

 the Nile, and is known in Egypt as the Bunri. It has been recorded from some 

 fresh-water lakes in Tunis. Giinther mentions it from Rome, where it is 

 known as the Cefalo calamita ; at Venice its common name is Caiisfello. In 

 France it ascends the Gironde, Loire, Seine, and the Somme, and is known as 

 the Muge capita a. Steindachner reaords it from the rivers of the Spanish 

 peninsula. It is common on British shores. 



In this species the total length is about four and a half times the length of 

 the head ; and the fish is fully five times as long as high. The dorsal and 

 ventral contours are so moderately convex as to give the fish a long and flat- 

 tened aspect. The snout is wide and depressed; the rather convex space 

 between the eyes is about two-fifths the length of the head. 



The eyes, which are rather large, are distinguished by wanting the fatty 

 eyelid which is found in many species of the genus. The nostrils are close 



