J 78 



Acantliop- 

 tervgii- 

 Menidae. 



Squammi. 

 peiines. 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Cuv. ; Pagrus Uneatus, Fleming ; Sparus brama, Linn.). 

 Other species occur about the Cape of Good Hope, and 

 in the Indian seas ; but it does not appear that any have 

 yet been observed along the American shores, or around 

 the islands of the Atlantic. 



The genus Boops,' with which we shall conclude our 

 sketch of the Sparidae, has its outer row of teeth of a tren- 

 chant or cutting form ; the mouth small, and not at all 

 protractile. Two species occur in the European seas, more 

 particularly in the Mediterranean. They differ from most 

 of their congeners in living entirely on marine plants, such 

 as alga; and fuci of various kinds. In accordance with 

 this vegetable diet, their intestinal canal is very long, 

 though they have tevf appendages around the pylorus. 

 They are celebrated for the beauty of their colours. 



FAMILY v.— MENID.E 



The genera of this family differ from those of the pre- 

 ceding in their upper jaw being capable of projection and 

 retraction, in consequence of the length of the intermaxil- 

 lary pedicles, which withdraw between the orbits. Their 

 body is scaly like that of Sparus, of which genus they 

 formed a part, until their re-arrangement by Baron Cuvier. 



As we have nothing of general interest to state regard- 

 ing the fishes of this comparatively limited group, we 

 shall merely refer, in relation to its general contents, to 

 our Systematic Table (note to page 165), and proceed to 



FAMILY VI.—SQUAMMIPENNES. 



So called because the softer, and frequently also the 

 spinous portions of the dorsal and anal fins are covered 

 with scales, which as it were encrust them, and render 

 their discrimination from the rest of the body by no means 

 easy. This is the most obvious character of these fishes, 

 of which the form is in general much compressed. The 

 intestines are rather long, and the caeca numerous. This 

 family was comprised by Linnaeus in his genus Chjetodon, 

 so called from the long, slender, and hair-like character of 

 the teeth ; and the species in general are alike remarkable 

 for their singular forms and splendid colours. 



The seas of the torrid zone have indeed no cause to 

 envy the productions of those famous lands, the shores of 

 which they have so long bathed with their translucent 

 waters. If the equatorial regions of Africa and Ameri- 

 ca possess, among their feathered tribes, the brilliant soui- 

 mangas, the lustrous humming birds, and the gorgeous 

 chatterers, the intermediate ocean and the Indian seas 

 contain countless thousands of the finny race which sur- 

 pass even these in splendour. The Cha?todons, in parti- 

 cular, form a family on which nature has bestowed her 

 ornaments with a most lavish hand. The deep purple of 

 the iris, the paler richness of the rose, the azure blue of 

 the " crystalline sky," the darkest velvet black, — these 

 hues, and many more, are seen commingled with metallic 

 lustre over the pearly surface of this resplendent group. 

 The eye of man receives the greater pleasure from their 

 contemplation, in as far as being of moderate size, and 

 haunting habitually the rocky shores, at no great depth of 

 water, they are seen to sport in the sunbeams, as if desir- 

 ous to exhibit their splendid liveries to the greatest ad- 

 vantage in the blaze of day. 



Tribe \st. TeetJi Hair-like. 

 Genus Ch^todon, Cuv. Body more or less elliptical, 



the spinous and the softer rays continuing in a nearly Acanthop- 

 uniform curve; muzzle'more or less advanced; the pre- terygii. 

 opercle sometimes finely dentated. Sijuammi- 



The species resemble each other not only in the more P^""®^' 

 essential characters just stated, but even in the distribu- »^ 

 tion of their markings. The majority, for example, are 

 characterised by a black vertical band, in which the eye 

 is placed. In some we find several additional vertical 

 bands parallel to the one mentioned ; in others they are 

 oblique or horizontal. Certain species are distinguish- 

 ed by a filament which results from the prolongation of 

 one or more of the soft rays of the dorsal fin. The ge- 

 nus is very extensive, containing upwards of sixty spe- 

 cies even in its restricted constitution. We must here 

 confine ourselves to a slight notice of two or three of 

 these. ChiEtodon reticulatus, Cuv. (Plate CCCI. fig. 1) 

 is a beautiful example obtained by MM. Lesson and 

 Garnot at Otaheite. Its sides are mailed or reticulated 

 by a longitudinal series of scales. It measures about six 

 inches in length, and four in height. Ch. lunula, Cuv. 

 (ibid. fig. 2), occurs at the Isle of France. It is nearly of 

 the same size as the preceding, A third species, of even 

 more singular markings, is Ch. Ephippium of the same 

 author (ibid. fig. 3). It was found at the Moluccas by 

 M. Reinwardt — at Bolabola one of the Society Islands, 

 by MM. Lesson and Garnot, — and appears, by a coloured 

 drawing in the Banksian Library, to have likewise oc- 

 curred at Otaheite during Cook's third voyage. 



Genus Chelmon, Cuv. Separated from Cha?todon on 

 account of the extraordinary form of the muzzle, which is 

 long and slender, open only at the extremity, and form- 

 ed by the inordinate horizontal prolongation of the inter- 

 maxillary bone above, and of the inferior jaw. These 

 parts are united for two thirds of their length by a mem- 

 brane, so that the mouth is nothing more than a small 

 terminal cleft. The teeth are rather fine and closely set 

 than hair-like. Chelmon rostratus ( Chat. rost. Linn.) is 

 the most anciently known. It is a small fish, measuring 

 from six to eight inches in length, and is remarkable for 

 the following peculiarity. It feeds on flies and other 

 winged insects, and when it perceives one of these either 

 hovering over the surface, or settled on a twig or blade 

 of grass, it ejects against it with considerable force a drop 

 of liquid from ist tubular snout, so as to drive it into the 

 water. In shooting at a sitting insect it generally ap- 

 proaches cautiously within a few feet before it explodes 

 the water. Schlosser has described this curious device 

 in the Philosophical Transactions for 1764, after Hum- 

 mel, and it has since been confirmed by Reinwardt. It 

 is even said to be an amusement of the Chinese in Java to 

 keep this fish in confinement in a large vessel of water, 

 with a view to observe its dexterity in the practice of 

 this admirable instinct. They fasten a fly or other insect 

 to the side of the vessel, when the Chelmon immediate- 

 ly bombards it with such precision as very rarely to miss 

 the mark. In a state of nature it is said to inhabit both 

 the coasts and rivers of Java. We are as yet acquainted 

 with only one other species of this restricted genus. It 

 is the Ch. longirostris of Broussonet, of which the reader 

 will find an accurate representation on Plate CCCI. fig. 

 5. It is not known de facto to possess the same singu- 

 lar mode of capturing its prey as the preceding, but that 

 it does so may be almost infierred from its similarity of 

 structure. 



Genus Henochius, Cuv. Differs from Chastodon in 

 the spines of the back, particularly the third and fourth, 

 being greatly increased in length, and forming a filament 

 sometimes double the length of the body. 



Tlie generic name is changed to Box in the Hist. Nat. ties Poissons, t. vi. p. 340. 



