ICHTHYOLOGY. 



jr.9 



Percida". 



Acunthop. ed unfortunately to be caught by the fislierman's liotik, 

 terygii. jf y,^g supposed that its companions immediately severed 

 the line by means of their sharp spines. Mekros of Cuv. 

 contains tlie Perca gigas of Gmelin, a species wliich some- 

 times attains to tlie weight of sixty pounds.' This sub- 

 division of the genus Serranus contains a great amount 

 of species. The only other which we shall here mention 

 is that which we have shown in Plate CCXCVIII. fig. 

 4, under the name of Serranus altivelis, which is chiefly 

 remarkable for the great size of the posterior portion of 

 the dorsal fin. It occurs in the seas around Java. 



Genus Plectropoma, Cuv. Differs from Serranus 

 chiefly in the more or less numerous dentations of the in- 

 ferior margin of the pre-opercle, being directed obliquely 

 forward, — recalling in some measure the teeth of the 

 rowel of a spur. AH the species are foreign to Europe ; 

 and the same observation applies to the genus Diacope, 

 the characters of which we shall not here detail. 



Genus Mesoprion, Cuv. Agrees with Serranus in its 

 teeth, fins, and dentated pre-opercle, but differs in its 

 opercle being terminated by an obtuse angle, not spinous. 



The species are remarkable for the varied richness and 

 lustre of their colours. They inhabit both the castciTi 

 and western seas, but occur chiefly in those of India, 

 China, and Japan, concealing themselves in the hollows 

 of rocks, and leaving their sombre haunts only during 

 fine weather, to prey on the delicate Mollusca with which 

 those waters swarm. Many of the species are large, and 

 excellent as articles of food. M. vivanus attains the 

 weight of forty pounds. We have figured, on Plate 

 CCXCVIII. fig. 5, an American species of great beautj-, 

 described by Cuvier under the name of M. mii/iolaliis. 

 The back and upper portion of the head and cheeks are 

 of rich steel blue, the lower part of the cheeks and sidts 

 of a fine rose colour, the abdomen silvery. The entire 

 body is coursed by many bands of a golden hue, irregular 

 and disconnected on the dorsal surface. The dorsal fin 

 is rose-colour, with three yellow bands ; the other fins 

 are gamboge yellow. This species seldom much exceeds 

 a foot in length. 



b. Teeth fine, and closely set. 



Genus Acerina, Cuv. Distinguished by cavities or 

 depressions in the bones of the head, and by the opercle 

 and pre-opercle having only small spines, without denta- 

 tions. 



We shall here name only the Acerina vulgaris {Perca 

 cermia, Linn.), a British species, commonly called the ruffe, 

 much esteemed for the delicacy of its flesh. Mr Yarrell 

 informs us that it is common to almost all the canals and 

 rivers of England, particularly the Thames, the Isis, and 

 the Cam. Though said to be unknown in Spain, Italy, 

 and Greece, it occurs pretty generally over the colder 

 portion of the European continent, preferring slow, shaded 

 streams, and a gravelly bottom.- 



It is angled for with a small red worm, and being gre- 

 garious, six or eight dozen may sometimes be taken at a 

 single stand. 



Genus Rypticus, Cuv. Small spines on the opercles ; 

 scales likewise small, and concealed, like those of Gram- 

 mistes, beneath a thick epidermis. The genus, however, is 

 well distinguished from the latter by the single dorsal fin. 



The species have been named Savonniers by the 

 French, in consequence of their soft and soapy surface, 

 which feels as if it had been lubricated by some unctuous 

 matter. 



I'orcKlu;. 



Genus Polyprion', Cuv. In addition to spines on theAcanthop- 

 opercle, and dentations on the pre-opercle, the former is tervpii 

 furnished with a rough bifurcated crest, and the bones of 

 the head generally are marked by asperities. 



P. cernium is an enormous fish, extremely common in 

 the Mediterranean, but very indistinctly characterised or 

 understood before the time of Cuvier and his able coadju- 

 tor M. Valenciennes. It attains the length of five or six 

 feet, and sometimes weighs a hundred pounds. The flesh 

 is white, tender, and well tasted. It is frequent, according 

 to Risso, near Nice, where it delights in rocky bottoms, 

 and is occasionally captured at the vast depth of three 

 thousand feet. 



Cuvier here places the singular genus Pentaceros, of 

 which the sole species, bearing some resemblance in its 

 general aspect to the Ostradon auritus of Shaw, was 

 brought to Holland by M. Horstock. We shall here 

 likewise merely name the genera Centropristis and 

 Gristes of Cuvier, the former containing the Black Har- 

 ry of the Americans, an excellent fish, common near New 

 York,— the latter, the species called growler in the Uni- 

 ted States. 



The ancient unrestricted genus Perca, as defined by 

 Artedi and Linnasus, terminates in this place. But there 

 remains a large assemblage of allied species referrible to 

 various distinct genera, though still pertaining to the 

 great family of Percid;e. 



C. With less thafi seven branchial rays. 



a. inih a single dorsal fin, and canine teeth mingled with 

 the others. 



In this subdivision we place the genus Cirrhites 

 alone. The species are from the Indian seas, and have 

 only six branchial rays. 



b. With a single dorsal fin, and small close-set teeth. 



Here are classed the genera Chironemus, Centra r- 

 cnus, and Pomotis. To the last belongs the P. vulgaris, 

 Cuv. {Labrus auritus, Linn.), called pond-perch in New 

 York. It is frequent in mill-dams and other tranquil 

 waters, and is often angled for in America, both for plea- 

 sure and profit. According to Dr Richardson, it is called 

 sun-fish around Lake Huron. See Plate CCXCVIII. fig. 

 6. Of the genus Priacanthus we shall merely observe.X 

 that the species are peculiar to the seas of hot climates. 

 The genus Dules resembles Centropristis already de- 

 scribed, except that it possesses only seven branchial rays. 

 D. riipestris bears resemblance to a carp, and is found in 

 the fresh waters of the islands of Bourbon and the Mau- " 

 ritius, where it is highly esteemed for the excellence of 

 its flavour. We have figured one of the most remarkable 

 of the genus (Plate CCXCVIII. fig. 7), named Dules 

 auriga by Cuvier, on account of the long whip-like form 

 assumed by the third spine of the dorsal fin. It was 

 brought from Brazil by iM. Delalande. 



We shall conclude this subdivision by a brief notice of 

 the genera Tiierapon, Datnia, Pelates, and Helotes. 

 It has been observed that these constitute a group, form- 

 ed, as it were, to make naturalists despair, by showing 

 how nature laughs at what we deem characteristic com- 

 binations. The genera above named, possessing a mul- 

 titude of mutual relations, as well interior as external, 

 sufficient to forbid their distant separation, and bearing a 

 great resemblance to the entire percoid family, at the 

 same time combine species furnished with palatine teeth. 



' It is synonymous with Pcrra robuita of Mr Couch, made known by that gentleman as a British species, from a single specimen 

 taken with a hne. (See Mugaxiue uf Natural History, vol. v. p. 21.1 

 • Hiltory of British Fishes, p. \li. 

 VOL. XII. ■* 



