ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Acantliop. 



teryjjii. 



Scombe- 



ridae. 



tinuously to the taiU towards whicli it decreases in ele- 

 vation. 



Tiiis noted frenus has been remodelled in recent times, 

 and now consists of the following minor groups. 



Isi. Genus Corypiia;na proper. Cuv. Head very ele- 

 vated, profile curved and perpendicular, eyes low ; mouth 

 well cleft ; teeth like those of a wool card. 



The generic term is derived from xo^uipri, I'ertex, or top 

 of the head, in reference to the height of the crest of the 

 cranium. This division contains the famous dolphin of the 



187 



ridsE. 



One or two other kinds, not so distinctly known, occur Acanthop- 

 in the Meditenanean, and many others in more distant terygii. 

 seas. We here figure a large species, measuring nearly Scombe- 

 four feet in length, taken by M. Dussumier about fifty 

 leagues to the west of the Azores, for which reason it bears 

 the name of Coryjilmna, Azorica, see Plate CCCIII.fig. a. 

 The PoKtuguese name more than one species Dorade, a term 

 which, from its similarity to Baurade (a frequent appella- 

 tion of our gilt-head, Chrysophria aurata), has produced 

 some confusion. Not less ambiguous is the name of Dol- 



Mediterranean(Cor./(ip/j?<TOs, Linn.), so celebrated for the /)/««, which appears to have been first misapplied to the 

 beauty of its versatile tints. Corypha;na; by the Dutch. It is scarcely necessary to ob- 



serve, that the English word Dni|)hin, as synonymous with 

 the Greek AsXp/j, the Latin Delphinus, and the French 

 Dauphin, was originally, and is still correctly, applied only 

 to designate a group of cetaceous animals (allied in struc- 

 ture to the whales), to which the classical dolphin of anti- 

 quity assuredly belonged. But by some conversion, into 

 the history of which it is not worth while to inquire, the 



parting day 



Hies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues 



AVith a new colour as it gasps away. 



The last still loveliest, till — 'tis gone — and all is gray. 



The species are still in some measure indistinctly cha- 

 racterized. They occur in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, 

 and the Mediterranean Sea, and are remarkable, anions 



other things, for their keen pursuit of flying fish, which, in term has been applied by most modern writers, particularly 



poets, to a creature of another class, a genuine fish, of the 

 genus Coryphana. No fault therefore can be imputed to 

 the naturalist, if the general misapplication of the term is 

 now found to occasion any misconception. There is no 

 doubt, however, that the animal beloved by gods and men, 

 the Hieros Ichthys of the heroic Greeks, and the revered 

 symbol of the Delphic Apollo, was nothing more than a 

 pellock or porpoise.- 



2rf. Genus Lampugus,^ Cuv. Head oblong ; central crest 

 of the forehead much lower than in Coryphaena ; dorsal fin 

 equal, and low throughout its whole extent. 



More than one species occurs in the Mediterranean, 

 but the most common in that sea is L. pelagicus, which 

 almost in every thing resembles the so-called dolphin, 

 except in the form of its head, and more diminutive di- 

 mensions. 



3rf. Genus Centrolophus, Lacep. Form more length- 

 ened ; palatine teeth wanting ; an interval between the 

 occiput and the commencement of the dorsal fin. 



Most of the species occur in the Mediterranean ; and 

 the black perch of Pennant, the black fish of Couch and 

 Yarrell (Cent, pompilus, Cuv.), is referrible to this genus. 

 It is a fish of great strength and velocity, measuring from 

 two to three feet, and is one of our rare British species. 



Genus Astrodebmus, Bonelli. Head elevated and 

 sharp; mouth slightly cleft ; only four branchial rays ; ven- 

 trals very small, and placed upon the throat ; scales scat- 

 tered upon the body, and assuming the radiated form of 

 little stars. It is from the latter circumstance that the 

 genus derives its name. 



There is only a single species of this genus, — recently 

 discovered, and still extremely rare. It has been taken 

 near Nice, and also in the Gulf of Cagliari in Sardinia, 

 and was originally described by M. Risso under the name 

 of Coryphana elegans. 



Genus Pteraclis. Head and teeth as in Coryphana, 

 but the scales are larger, the ventrals very small, and 

 placed upon the throat ; the dorsal and anal fins prodi- 

 giously extended. 



This eccentric genus is founded on a fish described by 

 Pallas in his Spicilegia, under the name of Cofrypha'na ve- 



the first place, they force to leave their native element, 

 and then following swiftly in a corresponding track, receive 

 with open mo\ith the moment they descend exhausted to 

 the surface. The Coryjjhaena; may be regarded as among 

 tlie most brilliant inhabitants of the sea. It is necessary, 

 according to Bosc, to have seen them following a vessel in 

 troops, before we can form a proper estimate of their beauty. 

 When they swim embodied near the surface, and beneath 

 the light of a cloudless sky, they seem effulgent with the rich- 

 est gold, combined with the sparkling lustre of the topaz, 

 the emerald, and the sapphire, — and every brilliant hue in 

 perpetual change, accordant with the vivacity and varied 

 grace of their movements. It is indeed a spectacle suffi- 

 cient anywhere to excite our unfeigned admiration ; and 

 when seen suddenly amid the waves of the lonely and 

 monotonous ocean, it comes upon us like a glad surprise. 

 The beauty of these fishes has in every age attracted the 

 wonder 



Of all who on the wide deep wandering are; 



and it is so far to be regretted, that their fugitive colours 

 have been the chief object of attention, — their more pre- 

 cise description and specific discrimination having been 

 greatly disregarded. 



The Coryphaenae are strong, active, and voracious fishes. 

 W'hile swimming rapidly, they seem rather as if impelled 

 or projected forwards by some exterior force, than by any 

 exertion of their own. But, on attentive examination, a 

 strong and rapid muscular movement may be detected, by 

 the constant undulation of the long dorsal fin, a movement 

 which greatly contributes to the throwing off of those lus- 

 trous metallic reflections for which they have so long been 

 noted. The Mediterranean species. Cor. hippurus, if not the 

 most beautiful, is the largest known. It sometimes attains 

 to the length of five feet. Its colours, so far as they are ca- 

 pable of description, are silvery blue above, with markings 

 of a deeper azure, and reflections of pure gold^the lower 

 parts citron yellow, marked with pale blue. The pectoral 

 fins are partly lead colour, partly yellow ; the ventrals are 

 yellow on their under surface, and black above ; the anal 

 fin is yellow. The iris of the eye is made of apparent gold.' 



' Every voyager seems to describe the dolphin in his own way ; and it is by no means easy for a landsman to ascertain which is 

 the right one. The plav of colour, as it is called, may no doubt admit of great diversity in the expressions used. The above de- 

 scription is from the recorded observation of the living fish by 51. Biberon. Another eye-witness. Colonel Bory St Vincent, de- 

 scribes the back as being of a sea-green colour, sprinkled with orange spots ; the abdomen silvery ; the lateral line yellow ; the dorsal 

 fin celestial blue, with golden-coloured rays ; the caudal fin surrounded by a green hue ; the other fins yellow. {Dictiannnire Ctas- 

 tique d'Hist. Nat. t. iv. p. 528) 



' Wilson's Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. article Uelphiwaptehus. 



' Synonymous with the genus Caranxomiis of Lacepede, which was adopted by Cuvier in the Rcgne Animal, but is now, so far as 

 the name is concerned, handed over to oblivion. 



