ICHTHYOLOGY. 



195 



Acanthop- is a large fish (measuring from four to five feet in lengtli) 



ttr.vi,'ii. of the European seas, with a wide mouth, depressed head, 



Lahrid*. numerous teeth, and a bearded tongue. Its aspect is ex- 



^""i"^^ tremely repulsive. The Mountshay Avgltr of Borlase,' 



and the one from Bristol,^ are, according; to Dr Fleming, 



only mutilated specimens of the species just alluded to. 



The Chironectes {Anten?iarhis, Commers.) have free 

 rays on the head, like the preceding, the first being slen- 

 der, often terminating by a tuft; and the following, in- 

 creased by a membrane, are sometimes greatly inflated, 

 and at other times united into a single fin. Their body 

 and head are compressed, and the mouth opens vertically ; 

 tiieir gill-covers, provided with four rays, open only by a 

 canal, and a small hole behind the pectoral ; the dorsal 

 occupies nearly all the back. The whole body is some- 

 times garnished with cutaneous appendages. The bran- 

 chias are four in number ; the swimming bladder is large, 

 and the intestine of moderate size and without ca;ca. By 

 filling their enormous stomach with air, after the manner 

 of the Tetrodons, they can inflate their abdomen like a 

 balloon. When on land, their fins assist them in creep- 

 ing, which they do almost after the manner of small quad- 

 rupeds, the pectorals, from their position, performing the 

 office of hinder legs. Moving about in this manner, they 

 can live without entering the water for two or three days. 

 They are found in tropical seas; and Linnaeus appears to 

 have confounded several species under the name of Lo- 

 phivs histrio. 



Genus Malthe, Cuv. Has the head unusually large 

 and flattened, principally by the projection of the sub-oper- 

 culum : the eyes placed very far forwards ; the muzzle 

 projecting like a little horn, and the mouth situate under 

 it, the latter being of moderate size and protractile ; the 

 gill-covers supported by six or seven rays, and open to- 

 wards the back by a hole above each pectoral ; the single 

 dorsal small and soft ; the body covered with osseous tu- 

 bercles, and having barbels along the sides, but there are 

 no free rays over the head. The swimming bladder and 

 caeca are wanting. 



Genus Batrachus. Derives its name from a Greek 

 word signifying a frog, to which the species are thought 

 to bear some resemblance, in consequence of the enlarge- 

 ment of the head. The latter is flattened horizontally, and 

 wider than the body ; the gape wide, and both the opercle 

 and sub-opercle spiny ; the gill-covers six-rayed ; the ven- 

 trals narrow, attached under the throat, and consisting 

 only of three rays, of which the first is wide and elongat- 

 ed ; and the pectorals supported by a short arm, form- 

 ed by the prolongation of the carpal bone. The first dor- 

 sal is short, supported by three spiny rays ; the second 

 long and soft, which is also the case with the corre- 

 sponding anal one. The lips are often garnished with fila- 

 ments. Such as have been dissected have their stomach 

 in the form of an oblong sac, the intestines short and 

 without ca;ca. The swimming bladder is deeply furcate 

 anteriorly. Thej' conceal themselves in the sand, lying 

 in ambush for their prey. The wounds made by their 

 spines are supposed to be dangerous. The species, which 

 vary considerably in their form and aspect, occur both in 

 the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. 



FAMILY XIV — LABRIDjG. 



Easily recognised by its external aspect. The body is 

 oblong and scaly, and the single dorsal fin is supported an- 

 teriorly by spines, each of which is generally garnished 

 with a membranous appendage. The jaws are covered 



by fleshy lips ; the two upper pharyngeals are supported Acanthop- 

 against the cranium, and the lower one is large, all the '"-^S,"' 

 three armed with teeth, srimeUmes en pave, at other times ^||i|^™^ 

 pointed or in the form of plates, but generally stronger ^""^'^^ 

 than usual. The intestinal canal is entirely without casca, 

 or only with two very small ones ; and there is a strong 

 swimming bladder. 



The genus LABUUSofLinnseus forms an extensive group 

 of fishes, very like each other in their oblong shape, and 

 double fleshy lips (from which circumstance they derive 

 their name), one of which is immediately connected with 

 the jaws, and the other with the sub-orbitals ; the gills are 

 serrated, and have five rays ; the maxillary teeth conic, 

 the middle and anterior ones being longest ; the pharyn- 

 geal teeth cylindrical and blunt, disposed en pave, the 

 superior on two large plates, the inferior on a single one 

 corresponding to the two above. The stomach is not in 

 the form of a cul-de-sac, but is continuous with an intes- 

 tine without caeca, which, after two convolutions, termi- 

 nates in a large rectum. The swimming bladder is robust 

 and simple. The species are numerous, and the colours 

 of many of them liable to so much variation that it is dif- 

 ficult to distinguish them with precision. 



In recent times the Linna;an genus has been subdivid- 

 ed as follows : 



Genus Labrus, properly so called. Opercle and pre- 

 opercle destitute both of spines and dentations ; cheeks 

 and opercle covered with scales ; lateral line straight, or 

 nearly so. 



Four different kinds have been described as inhabiting 

 the British seas, but some of these seem to be mere va- 

 rieties, such, for example, as the L. balaniisand L. comber 

 of Pennant, which are probably referrible to the Labrus 

 maculatus of Bloch. L. lineatus is likewise a British spe- 

 cies. The ground colour is reddish, with one or more ir- 

 regular clouded bands of a deeper colour along the flanks. 

 The dorsal has from sixteen to seventeen spines, and is 

 marked with a dark-coloured spot anteriorly. 



Genus Cheilinus, Lacep. Differs from the Labri 

 properly so called, by the lateral line being interrupted 

 opposite the dorsal fin, and commencing again a little 

 lower. The scales at the extremity of the tail are large, 

 and partially envelope the base of the caudal. They are 

 fishes of considerable beauty, and are found in the Indian 

 seas. 



The next genus of interest is that named Julis, in 

 which the head is entirely smooth and without scales, 

 and the lateral line is much bent opposite the end of the 

 dorsal. Several species occur in the Atlantic and Medi- 

 terranean, and most of them are of very beautiful colours. 

 The most common European one {Labrus Julis, Linn.) is 

 frequent in the Mediterranean, and has likewise been 

 found on the coast of Cornwall. It is about seven inches 

 in length, and of a beautiful violet, relieved by a bright 

 zigzag orange band on each side. 



Genus Crenilabrus has been separated by Cuvier 

 from the Z.M//awi of Bloch, and associated with the Labri, 

 to which all their characters, both external and internal, 

 correspond, except the dentation of the edge of the pre- 

 opercle. (See Plate CCCIV. fig. 6.) Several species are 

 found in the northern seas, such as Lutjamis rupestris, 

 Bloch, 250, of a j'ellow colour, with clouded vertical bands. 

 The British species (C. tinea) known under the name of 

 old wife, or wrasse, belongs to this genus, as does likewise 

 the gibbous wrasse of Pennant's British Zoology. The 

 Mediterranean furnishes a great number adorned with 

 the most beautiful colours, such as the Labr. lapina, 

 Forsk, which is silvery, with three broad longitudinal 



' Cornaall, 26C, t. 27, f. 6. 



- Phil. Trans, liii. p. 170, t. 13. 



