174 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Buccae 

 LoricatsB. 



Acanthop- sures US that in Russia no one will taste it, although 

 tjerygn. the common people hang it around their necks as an amu- 

 let, under the impression that it acts as a preservative 

 against attacks of tertian fever. We have represented in 

 this work (Plate CCXCVIII. fig. 2)a salt-water species, C. 

 scorpius, commonly called the father-lasher, and frequent 

 around our rocky coasts. Under the English name of father- 

 lasher, tno species, however, seem to have been confound- 

 ed.' There are many other species of the genus, one of 

 which is extremely common in all the bays and gulfs of 

 Greenland. 



Under the generic name of Aspidophorus, several 

 Cotti have been separated from the parent group. Their 

 bodies are cuirassed by angular plates, and the teeth are 

 wanting on the vomer. Such is a small fish common on 

 our shores, and of which the membrane of the gills is gar- 

 nished with fleshy filaments. It is the C. cataphractus of 

 Linn., our common Pogge, or armed bull-head. See Plate 

 CCXCIX. fig. 3. 



We may here name three genera as intermediate be- 

 tween Cottus and Scorpana, viz. Hemitripterus (ibid, 

 fig. ■!■), Hemilepidotus, and Platvcephalus. We can- 

 not enter into any details regarding them. 



Genus ScoRPiENA, Linn. Head, as in Cottus, mailed 

 and jagged, but compressed laterally; body covered with 

 scales ; seven rays to the branchiae ; a single dorsal fin. 



These are small fishes of a repulsive aspect, to be al- 

 most inferred from the vulgar names bestowed upon them 

 in most countries, such as scorpion, toad, sea-devil, &c. 

 The species represented on the above Plate, fig. 5, was re- 

 ceived from the Isle of France. Many others occur in 

 the Indian seas, as well as in those of more northern 

 countries. 



The genus Sebastes of Cuv. possesses most of the cha- 

 racters of .Scorpawa, although the head is less jagged and 

 scaly. The species are widely dispersed through both 

 the northern and southern seas. We have selected as an 

 illustration (Plate CCXCIX. fig. 6) S. variabilis, which at- 

 tains to the length of two feet, and occurs in great abun- 

 dance in the seas about Kamtschatka and the Aleutian 

 Isles, where it is used as food. To this genus belongs 

 another northern species {S. norvegicus, Cuv. ; the sea- 

 perch of Pennant), occasionally found along the British 

 shores, and known to the Shetlanders under the name of 

 Bergylt, or Norway haddock? 



The genus Pterois of Cuv. contains the Scorpcena vo- 

 litans of Gmelin and other authors, remarkable for its 

 enormous pectoral fins, which resemble those of the fly- 

 ing fish, except that they are feebler, and, from being 

 so deeply notched, incapable of aiding the fish in leaving 

 its native element. Mr Bennet was assured by the fish- 

 ermen of Ceylon, where the species is very common, that 

 they had never seen it fly. 



The genus Apistus, Cuv., resembles Scorpana in its 

 palatine teeth and dorsal fin ; but the few rays of the pec- 

 torals are all branched. The distinguishing character, 

 however, consists in the strong spine of the sub-orbitals, 

 which on being projected from the cheek becomes a dan- 

 gerous weapon ; the more so, as in a state of repose it is 

 scarcely perceptible. In fact, their generic name is de- 

 rived from amffros, perfidious. M. Ehrenberg has made 

 us acquainted with a species from the Red Sea, which 

 greatly resembles the Indian Wooi-ah-minoo described by 

 Russel. It measures about four inches in length, and is 

 of a reddish colour on the back, and whitish on the sides 

 and abdomen. This Apistus flies like a Dactylopterus. 

 Ehrenberg observed it in the vicinity of Tor ; and when- 



Bucca 



LoricatsE. 



ever the sea was agitated, several fell into his vessel. As Acanthop 

 it is the only flying fish of the Red Sea, and is extremely t^rygii 

 abundant along those desert coasts over which the Israel- 

 ites so long wandered, he has conjectured that the food 

 mentioned in Exodus, ch. xvi. ver. 13, and by us translat- 

 ed quails, was in reslity the fish in question. It is named 

 by the Arabs Gherad el bahr, a term which we understand 

 to signify sea locust. The genus is rather numerous. We 

 have figured (Plate CCXCIX. fig. 7) Ap. marmoratus, a 

 species transmitted by Peron fiom Timor. It surpasses 

 the others in size, as well as in the lustre and precision of 

 its marbled markings. 



Genus Agriopus. No sub-orbital spine ; dorsal still 

 higher than in the preceding genus, reaching as far for- 

 ward as between the eyes ; the nape of the neck elevated ; 

 muzzle narrowed ; mouth small and slightly toothed ; 

 body without scales. 



The fish called sea-horse {see paard) by the Dutch 

 colonists at the Cape, and used by them as food, belongs 

 to this genus. It is the A. torvus of Cuvier. 



Genus Pelor, Cuv. Dorsal undivided, and teeth on 

 the palate, like Scorpiena ; bod^' without scales ; two free 

 rays beneath the pectorals ; anterior portion of the head 

 appearing crushed ; e3'es approximate ; dorsal spines very 

 high, and almost free ; sub-orbital spine wanting. 



The fantastic shape and almost monstrous aspect of 

 these fishes are alone sufficient to distinguish them from 

 every other genus. It is scarcely possible by words alone 

 to convey an idea of their extraordinary forms. ■ They in- 

 habit the Indian seas, and one of the most remarkable is 

 P.filamentorum, a species from the Isle of France, disco- 

 vered during Duperrey's expedition. It may be inferred 

 to feed upon Crustacea, as the remains of squillse were 

 found within its stomach. 



The genus Synanceia of Bloch and Schneider is quite 

 as hideous as that of Pelor, and indeed surpasses all the 

 Scorpaenae in ugliness. Their heads are rough, tubercu- 

 lated, but not compressed, and frequently enveloped in a 

 loose and fungous skin ; their pectoral rays are all branch- 

 ed, their dorsals entire ; they have no teeth either on the 

 vomer or palatines. 



S. horrida, as the title implies, exhibits by no means an 

 inviting aspect. It is named Ikan-swangi, or sorcerer fish, 

 by the Malays. S. hrachio of Cuv. is the species called 

 fi-fi, or hideous, by the Negroes of the Isle of France, who 

 hold it in great abhorrence. In fact, nothing can be con- 

 ceived more frightful. At first sight, no one would consi- 

 der it a fish, but rather as a mass or unformed lump of 

 corrupted jellj'. " Totum corpus," says Commerson, 

 " muco squalidum et quasi ulcerosum." Its head and 

 members seem enveloped in a sack of thick, soft, spongy 

 skin, warty and wrinkled like that of a leper, and irregu- 

 larly blotted over with various tints of brown and grey. 

 Sometimes it appears entirely black ; but it is always 

 gluey and disgusting to the touch. The little eyes are 

 scarcely discernible in the large cavernous head. This 

 species is said to possess great tenacity of life, and sur- 

 vives for a long time out of the water. The skin, in fact, 

 forms a little ring like that oi' Pelor, in the upper part of 

 the gills, above the point of the opercle, through which 

 the fish can respire at pleasure, leaving the remainder of 

 the cover closed, and the branchiae consequently unex- 

 posed to desiccation. The inhabitants of the Isle of 

 France regard it rather as a reptile than a fish ; and they 

 fear what they call its sting (that is, the wound inflicted 

 by its spines) more than that of snakes or scorpions. 



Genus Monocentris, Bloch. Body short, thick, and 



• See Hitt. Nat. dcs Poistont, t. iv. pp. 160-165 ; and Yarrell's BritUh FUhct, pp. 60-63. 

 ' Fleming's British Animals, p. 212. 



