329 



CHAP. XXIV. 



VERTEBRATA FISHES. 



Fishes : Instances of remarkable Form, Structure, and In- 

 stincts. The Lump-Sucker. The Lamprey. The Stickle- 

 back. Pipe-fishes. The Fishing-Frog. Shark. Rays, &c. 



MANY of the finny denizens of our sea-shores are 

 very remarkable, and in their structure, habits, 

 and instincts, exhibit in a striking manner those 

 great truths of natural theology to which we have 

 so frequently referred. Without entering into 

 such minute details as belong to the province of 

 the naturalist, it will be sufficient for our purpose 

 to describe such peculiarities as tend to illustrate 

 our subject. 



It has been already stated that various marine 

 animals, such for instance as the limpet or the 

 cuttle-fish, are furnished with disks, by which, in 

 consequence of the law of atmospheric and fluid 

 pressure, they are enabled to adhere with great 

 tenacity to those objects to which their disks are 

 applied. There are several kinds of fishes not 

 uncommon on our coasts furnished with this very 

 remarkable apparatus. 



One of these is the lump-sucker (Cycloptei^us 

 lumpus), a fish frequently taken on various parts 

 of our coast, and often found cast ashore. This 



