RIBAND-SHAPED FORM. 233 



peculiar. Their skeletons, though fibrous, is through- 

 out exceedingly tender ; the bones of the head have 

 a consistence scarcely greater than that of moistened 

 pasteboard, and the vertebrae are so slightly knit, 

 that the body is apt to be snapt across, even by the 

 efforts of the living fish, like that of the orvet, the 

 ophisaurus, or like the tail of a lizard. Their long 

 fin-rays, especially when they are young, snap 

 across like threads of glass ; their flesh is so soft, 

 that it is decomposed in a few hours, and they are 

 with difficulty preserved even in spirit-of-wine. We 

 are not to be surprised, therefore, that creatures 

 which are not more solid than a Mollusc, lose, with 

 age and numerous accidents, those exuberant and 

 frail ornaments which distinguish their normal con- 

 dition. The circumstance goes far to explain the 

 difficulties in which the history of these fishes has 

 been involved; no Naturalist having thoroughly exa- 

 mined one of them, and scarcely a single specimen 

 having been procured in its perfect state, the diffe- 

 rent descriptions, therefore, have been taken from in- 

 complete and ill-preserved individuals. This should 

 induce those who are so fortunate as to procure 

 specimens, to use them with all tenderness and care. 

 The elucidation of the tribe by M. M. Cuvier and 

 Valenciennes is an admirable exhibition of the in- 

 dustry and perseverance of these Naturalists ; and 

 to their valuable pages, as a study, we refer the 

 young Zoologist. The habits of the group appear 

 solitary, and they generally frequent the deep sea, 

 although the young, in spring, approach the coast, 



