112 DR. EMBLETON ON 



in bulk with the huge sharks and rayS; is, in several particulars 

 of its confirmation, closely allied to, and was long ranked with, 

 the Tetrodons and Diodons, or balloon and globe fishes, though 

 it wants the power of inflating itself which these possess. It is 

 now included with them in the family Gymnodontes of the Plec- 

 tognathi, or Sixth Order of Fishes in the arrangements of Cuvier 

 and Owen. It is found in the Mediterranean, and in the Atlantic, 

 from the Cape of Good Hope to the northern parts of the North 

 Sea, including all the coasts of the British Isles. 



Our specimen was caught about five miles off Cullercoats, in 

 September, 1849, by a fisherman, who found it, still alive, lying 

 on its side, on the surface of the water. It was rather a small 

 specimen, and weighed 17 lbs. Its colour, a steel grey, was said to 

 have been at first very brilliant, it grows silvery white towards the 

 mouth and the abdominal border, blackish grey towards the dorsal 

 ridge and tail. Head not distinguishable from trunk. Skin 

 scaleless, and spineless, thick, rough, much wrinkled, and closely 

 studded with minute bony particles beset with short sharpish 

 points. 



Lateral line absent. Dimensions of body as follows : — From tip 

 to tip of fins, 2 feet 6 inches ; from lips to farthest point of tail, 

 1 foot 9 inches; depth of body just in front of dorsal and anal 

 fins, 1 foot 2-^- inches; greatest thickness of body (just above and 

 behind the eye) 4 inches. Mouth very small, on median horizontal 

 line. Jaws undivided, palate and lingual teeth wanting. Jaw- 

 teeth, a pair of strong horny or bony beaks consolidated with the 

 jaws, upper beak enclosing the lower when the mouth is shut. 

 Lips thin, and partially exposing the teeth. Tongue, large, fleshy, 

 and firm, filling the floor of the mouth, its whole surface, particu- 

 larly at the point, studded with numerous papillae. At the back 

 of the mouth are three rows of sharp, thorn-like pharyngeal teeth, 

 projecting backwards on each side, above these an oval rough 

 callosity. Of the fins, the pectoral is attached on the horizontal 

 median line, 7 inches behind the lips, is thin and inclined gently 

 backwards, upper border arched, fifth ray the longest. 



The dorsal and anal lie so far back, that a perpendicular drawn 

 through the anterior border of their bases, strikes the horizontal 



