802 



ANNUAL REGISTER. 



other: beliinJ each was a round 

 spiracle, with six small cutaneous 

 rays on their inner circumference ; 

 the mouth was small, the teeth minute 

 and spicular ; the colour of the ani- 

 mal was cincrous brown above and 

 white beneath. The torpedo is an 

 inhabitant of most seas, but seems to 

 arrive at a larger size in the IMe- 

 diterranean than elsewhere. It is 

 generally taken with the trawl, but 

 has been sometimes known to take 

 a bait, thus justifying the descrip- 

 tion of Oppian. It commonly lies 

 in water of about forty fathoms 

 depth, in company with others of 

 this genus. 



It preys on smaller fish, and, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Pennant, a surmullet 

 and a place have been found in the 

 stomach ef two of them : the sur- 

 mullet, as Mr. Pennant M'ell ob- 

 serves, is a fish of that swiftness, 

 that it would be impossible for the 

 torpedo to take it hy pursuit : wc 

 may therefore suppose that it stupi- 

 fies its prey, by exerting its electric 

 faculty. The torpedo often inhabils 

 sandy places, burying itself superfi- 

 cially, by flinging the sand over it, 

 by 3 quick flapping of all the extre- 

 mities. It is in this situation that it 

 gives its most forcible shock, which 

 is said to throw down the astonished 

 passenger that inadvertently treads 

 on the animal.. 



The torpedo, with respcft to its 

 general anatomy, does not ma- 

 terially differ from the rest of the 

 ray tribe, except in its electric or 

 Galvanic organs, which are thus ac- 

 curately described by Mr. Hunter. 



" These organs are placed on 

 each side of the cranium and gills, 

 reaching from thence to the semi- 

 circular cartilages of each great 

 iin, and extending longitudinally 

 from the anterior extremity of the 

 animal to the transverse cartilage 



which divides the thorax from tlip 

 abdomen; and within these limits 

 they occupy the whole space be- 

 tween the skin of the upper and of 

 the under surface: they are thickest 

 at the edges near the centre of the 

 fish, and become gradually thinner 

 towards the extremities. Each elec- 

 tric organ, at its inner longitudinal 

 edge, is a convex elliptic curve. The 

 anterior extremity of each organ 

 makes the section of a small circle ; 

 and the posterior extremify makes 

 nearly a right angle with the innfeir 

 edge. Piach organ is attached to the 

 surrounding parts by a close cellular 

 membrane, and also by short and 

 strong tendinous fibres, which pass 

 directly across its outer edge to the 

 semicircular cartilages. They are 

 covered above and below by the 

 common skin of the animal, under 

 which there is a thin fascia, spread 

 over the whole organ. This is 

 composed of fibres, which run lon- 

 gitudinally, or in the direction of the i 

 body of the animal : these fibres ap- 

 pear to be perforated in innumera- ' 

 ble places, which gives the fascia the 

 appearance of being fasciculated : its 

 edges, all round, are closely con- 

 nected to the skin, and at last ap- 

 pear to be lost, or to degenerate in- 

 to the common cellular membrane of 

 the skin: immediately under this is 

 another membrane, exactly of the 

 same kind, the fibres of which, in 

 some measure, decupate those of the 

 former, passing from the middle line 

 of the body outwards and back- 

 wards ; the inner edge of this is lost 

 with the first described ; the ante- 

 rior, outer, and posterior etlges are 

 partly attached to the semicircular' 

 cartilages, and partly lost in the 

 common cellular meuibraiie. This 

 inner fascia appears to be continued 

 into the electric organ by so many 

 processesj and thereby make the 



mem- 



