8 FISHES. 



bladder; M. Malpighi (1628-94), who examined the optic 

 nerve of the sword-fish ; the celebrated J. Swammerdam 

 (1637-80), who described the intestines of numerous fishes ; 

 and J. DuVERNEY (1648-1730), who entered into detailed re- 

 searches of the organs of respiration. 



A new era in the history of Ichthyology commences with 

 • Bay, Willughhj, and Artccli, wlio were the first to recognise 

 the true principles by which the natural affinities of animals 

 should be determined. Their labours stand in so intimate a 

 connection with each other that they represent only one 

 stride in the progress of this science. 



Eay and J. Eay (born 1628 in Essex, died 1705), was the friend 



WiUughby ^^^ g^^-^g Qf ^ WiLLUGHBY (1635-72). They had recognised 

 that a thorough reform of the treatment of the vegetable and 

 animal kingdoms had become necessary ; that the only way 

 of bringing order into the existing chaos was that of arranging 

 the various forms with regard to their structure ; that they 

 must cease to be burdened with inapplicable passages and 

 quotations of the ancient writers, and to perpetuate the 

 erroneous or vague notions of their predecessors. They aban- 

 doned speculation, and adhered to facts only. One of the first 

 results, and perhaps the most important, of their method was, 

 that having recognised the " species " as such, they defined 

 this term, and fixed it as the base, from which all sound 

 zoological knowledge has to start. 



Although they had divided their work thus that Eay 

 attended to the plants principally, and Willughby to the 

 animals, the "Historia piscium" (Oxford, 1686, foL), which 

 bears Willughby's name on the titlepage, and was edited by 

 Eay, is clearly their joint production. A great part of the 

 observations contained in it were collected during their com- 

 mon journeys in Great Britain and on the Continent, and it 

 is no exaggeration to say that at that time these two English- 



