200 



JMalacop- 

 tervgii 

 Abdomi- 



nales. 

 Esocidae. 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



small inter-maxillaries provided with minute pointed teeth 

 in the middle of the upper jaw, of which they form the two 

 thirds ; but the maxillaries occupying the sides are with- 

 out teeth. The vomer, the palatines, the tongue, the 

 pharyngeals, and the arches of the branchia;, are covered 

 with teeth resembling those of a card ; and, in addition to 

 these, a series of long pointed teeth occupy the sides of 

 the lower jaw. The snout is oblong and obtuse, broad and 

 depressed ; and there is only one dorsal opposite the anal. 

 The stomach, which is large and plicate, is continuous with 

 a slender doubly-folded intestine without ca;ca. The swim- 

 ming bladder is very large. There is only one European 

 species, viz. Esox luchts, Linn, (the common pike), Plate 

 CCCIV. fig. 9. During the earliest stage of its life it is 

 of a greenish hue, but in the second year it becomes gray 

 with pale spots, the latter ultimately acquiring a yellow- 

 ish colour. Its markings, however, are very variable, and 

 instances have occurred of its being perfectly white. It 

 is one of the largest of fresh-water fishes, and indeed, if 

 the accounts which some writers give are not exaggerat- 

 ed, it occasionally attains a size not greatly inferior to the 

 gigantic inhabitants of the ocean. Individuals are record- 

 ed as measuring from five to nine feet in length. They 

 frequently weigh above thirty pounds in the lakes of the 

 north of England ; and Dr Grierson mentions one taken in 

 Loch Ken, in Galloway, which weighed sixty-one pounds. 

 Bloch indeed examined a portion of the skeleton of ano- 

 ther which could not be less than eight feet in length. 

 The most remarkable pike, however, of which we have 

 any authentic account, is that caught at Kaiserslautern, 

 near Manheim, in 1497, which was nearly nineteen feet 

 in length, and weighed 360 pounds. The skeleton of this 

 extraordinary specimen was for a long time preserved, 

 and bore a brass ring with an inscription to the effect that 

 the fish was put into a pond by the hands of the Emperor 

 Frederick II., the 5tli of October 12(32. From this it is 

 inferred that it was upwards of 235 years old. Pikes are 

 proverbially voracious. There seems indeed to be no 

 bounds to their gluttony, for they devour indiscriminately 

 whatever edible substances they fall in with, and almost 

 every animal they are able to subdue. " It is,'' says M. 

 de Lacepede, " the shark of the fresh waters ; it reigns 

 there a devastating tyrant, like the shark in the midst of 

 the ocean ; insatiable in its appetites, it ravages with fear- 

 ful rapidity the streams, the lakes, and the fish-ponds 

 where it inhabits. Blindly ferocious, it does not spare its 

 species, and even devours its own young ; gluttonous with- 

 out choice, it tears and swallows with a sort of fury, the 

 remains even of putrified carcasses. This blood-thirsty 

 animal is also one of those to which nature has accorded 

 the longest duration of years ; for ages it terrifies, agi- 

 tates, pursues, destroys, and consumes the feeble inhabit- 

 ants of the waters which it infests; and as if, in spite of 

 its insatiable cruelty, it was meant that it should receive 

 every advantage, it has not only been gifted with strength, 

 with size, with numerous weapons, but it has also been 

 adorned with elegance of form, symmetry of proportions, 

 and variety and richness of colour."' A singular instance 

 of its voracity is related by .Johnston, who asserts that he 

 saw one killed which contained in its belly another pike of 

 large size, and the latter on being opened was found to 

 have swallowed a water-rat ! 



The pike inhabits almost all the fresh waters of Europe, 

 but seems to flourish most in the northern and middle 

 countries. It likewise occurs in abundance in Asia and 

 North America. Its flesh is well flavoured and easy of 

 digestion, and is consequently much sought after as an 



article of food, especially for convalescents, and others of Malacop- 

 weakly habit. It is most lender and nutritive in young tervgii 

 individuals, but full-grown pikes are occasionally found, 

 in which the flesh on the back and near the vertebral co- 

 lumn acquires a greenish colour, which is held in high re- 

 pute, and often purchased at a great price. 



Genus Galaxi.is, Cuv. Has the body without appa- 

 rent scales, the mouth slightly cleft, pointed teeth of mo- 

 derate size on the palatines and both jaws, the upper jaw 

 having almost its entire edge formed by the inter-maxil- 

 lary. There are also some strong hooked teeth on the 

 tongue. 'V\\e Esox truttaceus,CviV., Esox alepodittcs, Forst. 

 exhibits the structure above described. 



Genus Alepocephalus, Risso. The species of this 

 genus bear a very close resemblance in their general form 

 to those of the preceding group, but their head only is 

 destitute of scales, the body being covered with scales of 

 large size; their mouth is small, and the teeth small and 

 crowded. The eye is very large, and the gills have eight 

 rays. Only one species is known, and it inhabits the 

 deepest parts of the Mediterranean. It is the A. rostra- 

 tus, Risso, 2d ed. f. 27. 



Genus jVIicrostoma, Cuv. Have the snout very short, 

 the lower jaw more advanced, and furnished, as well as 

 the small inter-niaxillaries, with very fine teeth ; three 

 broad and flat branchial rays ; the eye large, the body 

 elongated, and having the lateral line garnished with a 

 series of strong scales. There is a single dorsal a little 

 behind the position of the ventrals, and the intestines 

 are similar to those of the pikes. The only species known 

 {Sa-pa microstoma, Risso, p. 356) inhabits the Mediter- 

 ranean. 



Genus Stomias, Cuv. Muzzle extremely short, the 

 mouth cleft almost to the gills, the opercula reduced to 

 small membranous leaflets, and the maxillaries fixed to 

 the cheek ; inter-maxillaries, palatines, and mandibles 

 armed with small bent teeth, and the tongue with similar 

 ones. Their body is elongated, their ventrals altogether 

 behind, and their dorsal opposite their anal, on the hinder 

 extremity of the body. We are acquainted with two spe- 

 cies of these singular fishes, Esox boa, Risso, and Stmnias 

 barbatus, both from the Mediterranean. 



The genera Chauliodus (of which the sole species, 

 found near Gibraltar, is shown on Plate CCCIV. fig. 10), 

 Salanx, and Belone, comprehend a few species found 

 chiefly in the Mediterranean. In the last-mentioned genus, 

 the inter-maxillaries form the whole edge of the upper jaw, 

 which is prolonged, as well as the inferior, into a long 

 snout, and both provided with small teeth ; there are no 

 other teeth in the mouth, and those of the pharynx are 

 en pave. Their body is long, and covered with indis- 

 tinct scales, except a longitudinal carinated range on each 

 side, near the inferior edge. The bones are very remark- 

 able for their fine green colour. The intestines differ in 

 their structure from those of the pikes. One species in- 

 habits the European coasts, which is about two feet long, 

 green above, and white beneath. It affords a good dish, 

 in spite of the prejudice caused by the colour of its bones. 

 It is the Esox belone, sea-pike, or gar-Jish. Species near- 

 ly allied are to be found in all seas. Of these, one is said 

 to reach eight feet in length, and its bite is reported to be 

 dangerous. 



Genus Scomber-esox, Lacep. Has a snout of the 

 same structure as in Belone, nearly the same appearance 

 and arrangement of the scales, but the last rays of the 

 dorsal and anal are detached in spurious fins, as in the 

 mackerels. One of them occurs in the Mediterranean, viz. 



' Quoted in Griffith's edition of the Rif^e AniTnal. We cannot, however, agree with M. Lace'pede in his admiration of the gene* 

 ral ajijiearance of the pike, for we think its long lank jaws and sunken eye give it rather a diabolical aspect. 



