198 RIBAA'D-SHAPED. 



of teeth in the larger Mediterranean fish. May not the 

 rougher dorsal line and the six additional teeth be the conse- 

 quence of age ? 



The numbers of fin-rays agree very nearly : in the small 

 specimen preserved in spirits, they are — 



D. 69 : P. 16 : V. 1 +5 : A. 61 : C. 13. 



Of the habits of this fish but little is known. M. Risso 

 says, that when moving in the water, its appearance has sug- 

 gested the epithets of Fire-flame and Red-riband, by both 

 of which names it is known at Nice. He adds, also, that it 

 lives principally among seaweed near the shore, and though 

 it feeds on crustaceous and molluscous animals, yet its flesh 

 is not esteemed for its flavour. 



" The air-bladder of this fish," says Mr. Couch, " is re- 

 markable for its large size, and the chief part, not in the 

 abdomen, but behind it, occupying the space from the spine 

 behind the vent and along the anal fin." 



It may be considered worth noticing here, that a large 

 proportion of the examples of the family of riband-shaped 

 fishes that have been obtained in this, as well as in other 

 countries, have been left on the shore after stormy weather. 



Does their elongated form prevent their swimming with 

 ease at mid-water, and inducing a habit of keeping near the 

 gi-ound, or occasionally seeking cavities among rocks for 

 shelter, thus render them liable to be left dry by the retiring 

 tide, or destroyed by the force of waves dashing them against 

 such opposing substances ? The combination of great length 

 with extreme tenuity of body, by diminishing the quantity 

 of muscle, and at the same time preventing its being brought 

 into concentrated action upon a single centre of motion, must 

 necessarily leave them at all times much at the mercy of the 



