176 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Acaiithop. males alone are musical during spawning time, and that it 

 Sde^fd' ^^ V^f^s possible to capture them without any bait, merely 

 ^^^^^,^^ by imitating this peculiar sound. One alluded to by Cu- 

 vier as having been entangled in a net spread along the 

 shore at Dieppe, was at first found sleeping ; but on being 

 handled, it roused itself so suddenly, and with such vio- 

 lence, as to precipitate the fisherman into the water, and 

 force him to call for assistance before he could become its 

 master. High, though of course imaginary virtues, were 

 formerly attributed to the stones which occur in the ear 

 of this, as of other osseous fishes. They were worn on the 

 neck, set in gold ; and Belon says they were called cotic- 

 stones, being renowned for the cure, and even prevention, 

 of that complaint. It «as necessary, however, that they 

 should be received as a gift, — such as were purchased be- 

 ing found to lose their virtue. 



The species above mentioned belongs to the genus Sci- 

 «NA proper of Cuvier, a subdivision characterised by the 

 feebleness of the anal spines, and by the want of canine 

 teeth and barbies. 



Other subdivisions of the principal genus Sci;ena are as 

 follows : — OroLiTHUsand Ancylodon are foreign groups 

 (from India and America), which we shall merely name. 

 CoRviNA of Cuvier differs from Sciaena proper chiefly in 

 the much greater strength of the second anal spine. An 

 abundant species in the Mediterranean is the C. nigra, of 

 a silvery brown colour, with the ventral and anal fins black. 

 It occurs in salt marshes and the sea, but does not appear 

 to ascend rivers. It is less esteemed than the maigre, but 

 is not unfrequently sold for that fish in the Italian markets. 

 JoHNius of Bloch is closely allied to the preceding. We 

 here figure as an example of that minor group, the C. den- 

 tex of Cuv., a species from St Domingo. (Plate CCXCIX. 

 fig. 12.) Several of the fishes used as food in India belong 

 to the genus Jolinius. Their flesh is light, but not highly 

 flavoured. They are called ivhitings by the English in 

 Bengal. The species are tolerably numerous, and inha- 

 bit both seas and rivers. Umbrina of Cuvier is distin- 

 guished from the other Sciaenae by bearing a barbie on 

 the symphysis of the lower jaw. (Ibid. fig. 11.) The spe- 

 cies represented ( U. coroides) is a native of Brazil. The 

 bearded Umbrina ( U. vulgaris, Cuv.), a species frequent 

 on the coasts of France, Italy, and Spain, was captured in 

 the river Eye in 1827, as recorded in the minute-book of 

 the Linna-an Society. Pogonias, Lacepede, resembles 

 the preceding ; but it is furnished with several barbies in- 

 stead of one. The species are remarkable for their size, 

 some of them weighing occasionally aboveahundred pounds, 

 and for the singular sounds uttered by them, and which 

 have gained them the vulgar name of drums. Mr John 

 White, an American lieutenant, who (in 1824) published 

 a Voyage to the China Seas, relates, that being at the 

 mouth of the river Cambodia, himself and crew were great- 

 ly astonished by certain extraordinary sounds, which were 

 heard from around and beneath the vessel. They resembled 

 a combination of the base of an organ, tjie sound of bells, 

 and the guttural cries of a large frog, with certain tones, 

 which the imagination might attribute to a gigantic harp. 

 It might almost have been said that the vessel trembled at 

 those uncertain sounds. For some time they increased, 

 and finally formed a loud and universal chorus, the entire 

 length of the vessel, and on either side. In proportion as 

 they ascended the river the mysterious sounds diminished, 

 and finally altogether ceased. The interpreter gave the 

 information that they were produced by a troop of fishes 

 of a flattened oval form, which possess the faculty of ad- 

 hering firmly to various bodies by their mouths. A simi-' 

 lar phenomenon was noticed by the illustrious Humboldt 

 in the South Seas, although he was unable at the time to 

 divine the cause. It would, as Cuvier has remarked, be 

 an object of curious research to discover by what organ 



these sounds are produced. We have already mentioned, Acantliop- 

 that the majority of the Sciaenida;, especially such as are the tervgii. 

 most remarkable for the utterance of the sounds in ques- Spaiiila;. 

 tion, have large swimming bladders, furnished with strong ^"^■r^-^ 

 muscles. In some species the organ is characterised by- 

 prolongations, more or less complicated, which even pene- 

 trate the intervals of the ribs. It must, however, be borne 

 in mind that these swimming bladders have no communi- 

 cation with the intestinal canal, nor in general with any 

 part of the exterior. The example of the genus here figured 

 is P.fasciatus (Labrus Grunniens of Dr Mitchell), a ISforth 

 American species. (Plate CCXCIX. fig. LS.) 



Genus Eques, Bloch. Recognisable by a compressed 

 elongated body, raised at the shoulders, and finishing in a 

 point towards the tail ; the first dorsal is elevated, the se- 

 cond long and scaly. 



All the known species are American. See Plate 

 CCXCIX. fig. 14. 



B. A single dorsal fin. 



a. Seven branchial rays. 



The genera of this subdivision are HiEMULON, Dia- 

 GRAMM A, and Pristipom A, foreign groups, of each of which 

 we have figured an example. See Plate CCC. figs. 1,2, 3. 



b. Less than seven branchial rays. 



This minor group is again subdivisible in accordance 

 with the character of the lateral line. Those in which 

 that part is continuous to the tail are the genera Lobo- 

 TEs (Plate CCC. fig. 4), Cheilgdactylus (ibid. fig. 7), 

 ScoLOPSiDEs (ibid. fig. 6), and Latilus (ibid. fig. 9). 

 Those in which it is interrupted are Amphiprion (ibid, 

 fig. 5), Premnas (ibid. fig. 8), Pomocentrus (ibid. fig. 

 11), Dascyllus, Glyphisodon (ibid. fig. 10), and He- 

 liases. All these last-named genera consist of small 

 species, which, with few exceptions, are natives of the 

 Indian seas, the shores of which they embellish by the 

 splendour of their colours, which are in general extremely 

 brilliant. They may be perceived swimming about inces- 

 santly, and with great vivacity, among the rocks, and in 

 the watery pools left by the ebbing tide. Although for the 

 most part eatable, none of the species furnishes an im- 

 portant article of consumption, on account of the smallness 

 of their size, and their not occurring in numerous shoals. 



FAMILY IV — SPARID.«. 



The genera of this family, like those of the Sciaenidae, 

 have the palate destitute of teeth, and in their general 

 forms, as well as in several particulars of their organiza- 

 tion, they bear a strong alliance to that family ; but they 

 have no scales upon the fins. Their muzzle is not gib- 

 bous, nor the bones of their head cavernous. There are 

 no dentations to the pre-opercle, nor spines to the opercle. 

 The pylorus is furnished with caecal appendages. None 

 of the species possesses more than six rays to the bran- 

 chiae. They are further divisible according to the form 

 of their teeth. 



Genus Sargus, Cuv. Cutting incisors in front of the 

 jaws, almost similar to those of the human race. 



The species in general feed on shells and the smaller 

 Crustacea, which they easily crush with their molar teeth. 

 Certain kinds appear to devour fuci, at least Cuvier found 

 the stomachs of some which came from the Red Sea, and 

 of others from the Atlantic Ocean, filled with that marine 

 vegetation. Many vague notices of the Sargi are con- 

 tained in ancient authors. TElian and Oppian inform us 

 that the male is polygamous, and fights with great fury 

 against his own sex for the possession of many females. 



