917 



CKLETODON. 



CHAFFINCH. 



918 



ridges ; interstices with single vittto. The species are annual, biennial, 

 or perennial plants with decompound leaves. Many plants formerly 

 placed in this genus are now referred to Anthriscus, [ANTHKISCUS.] 

 The ChterophyUum sylrestre of Linnaeus is now Anthriscus sylrestrit. 

 It has been used in medicine as a substitute for hemlock. The 

 Ck&rophyllum sativum of Lamarck is the Anthriicus cerefolium of 

 Hoffman. It is the garden Chervil of Great Britain, and is used in 

 some places as a pot-herb. Three species of Chcerophyllum are 

 described by Babington in his ' Manual of British Botany : ' C. temu- 

 lum has a rough stem swelling beneath the joints ; the leaves 

 bipinnate ; the leaflets ovate, oblong, pinnatifid, with obtuse mucro- 

 nate segments ; glabrous petals ; styles equalling the stylopode. It 

 is a common plant on hedge-banks in Great Britain, attaining a 

 height of three or four feet. C. aureum and C. aromaticum have been 

 described as natives of Scotland, but it is very doubtful as to whe- 

 ther they have not both been introduced. (Babington, Mantoal of 

 British Botany ; Lindley, Flora Hedica.) 



CH^E'TODON (XOI'TTJ, hair, and oSovs, a tooth), a genus of Fishes 

 of the section Acanthopterygii and family Sqwimmipennes. It has 

 the following characters: Body compressed; mouth small, fur- 

 nished with several closely-set rows of long slender bristle-like teeth. 

 The scales (which are usually confined to the body) in this genus 

 extend on to the dorsal and anal fins, so that it is difficult to see 

 where the latter commence. 



These fishes abound in the seas of hot climates, frequent rocky 

 shores, and are adorned with beautiful colours. Their most common 

 tints appear to be black and yellow, but brilliant metallic blues and 

 greens of various hues are not unfrequent. Many of the species have 

 a vertical black band in which the eye is placed. In some there are 

 several similar vertical oands on the body; in others the body is 

 spotted or adorned with oblique or longitudinal bands. They have a 

 large air-bladder ; their intestines are long and ample ; and their caeca 

 are numerous, long, and slender. Their flesh is good eating. 



The species are numerous, and have been divided into several sub- 

 genera; those to which the name Chaitodon is now restricted have 

 the body more or less elliptical, the rays of the dorsal fin forming a 

 tolerably uniform curve, the snout more or less produced, and the 

 pre-operculum sometimes furnished with a small tooth. 



In some of this section one or more of the soft rays of the dorsal 

 fin are much produced, and form a long filament ; and others are 

 distinguished by their having very few spines to the same fin. 



C/uetodon i-agaljundus, a species which inhabits the coasts of Ceylon, 

 has the body of a pale yellow colour, with numerous oblique brownish- 

 purple lines; the dorsal fin is blackish, and has 13 spinous rays; the 

 caudal fin, or tail, is yellow, with two black bands ; the anal fin is 

 blackish with a yellow curved longitudinal band ; its margin is also 

 yellow ; a broad black vertical band extends through the eye ; and 

 the part anterior to this band, as low down as the eye, is of a pinkish 

 hue with yellow streaks. Its length is from 6 to 12 inches ; the scales 

 on the body are large ; those on the head are rather small. 



Ctuctodon 



The next sub-genus, Chelmon (Les Chelmous, Cuv.), is distinguished 

 by the form of the snout, which is much elongated, open at the end 

 only, and formed by a great elongation of the intermaxillary and 

 under-jaw bones. 



C. rottralut, a species which inhabits the fresh waters of India, is 

 of a silvery hue and has five brownish bands ; the posterior part of 

 the domal fin is furnished with a black spot encircled with white. 



TliU fish feeds upon insects, and is remarkable for its mode of 

 procuring them. When it observes a fly or any other insect on a 

 weed, or hovering over the water, it ejects a little drop through its 



tubular snout with such precision as frequently to disable the little 

 animal, so that it falls into the water and is devoured. 



In those parts where C. rostratus abounds it is frequently kept in 

 vessels of water, and affords much entertainment by the dexterity 

 displayed in shooting at flies which are placed on the vessel for the 

 purpose : it generally approaches to within five or six inches before 

 the drop of water is ejected. 



The sub-genus Henioclms differs from the true Chfetodona in having 

 the anterior spines of the back produced into a long filament, which is 

 sometimes double the length of the body. 



Ephippus may be distinguished by the species having the dorsal fin 

 deeply cleft between the spinous and soft portions. The spiny portion, 

 which is scaleless when not erected, is received into a groove formed 

 by the scales of the back. 



Holocanthus. The species of this sub-genus have a large spine on the 

 angle of the pre-operculum, and most of them have the edge of the 

 same bone serrated : they are found both in the Atlantic and Pacific 

 oceans. 



The next subdivision, Pomacanthtts, has the body of a more ele- 

 vated form, owing to the sudden rising of the anterior margin of 

 the dorsal fin. The only species known are from the American 

 coasts. 



In the last subdivision, Platax, the species may be known by the 

 extremely compressed form of the body, the large vertical dorsal fin 

 (which has the anterior spines almost concealed in the membrane), 

 the long ventral fins, and the teeth. Here, in addition to the fine 

 thickly-set teeth, there are some in front which are trenchant, and 

 each of them is divided into three points. 



All the species of this section are found in the Indian Ocean. One 

 has been found' in a fossil state at Mount Bolca. 



Platax vegpertilio will afford an example of this section. It is found 

 off the coast of Ceylon, and is of a yellowish colour ; the dorsal, anal, 

 and ventral fins are brownish, the back is also mottled with the same 

 colour, and a dark band extends downwards through the eye ; the 

 base of the caudal fin is dark brown. This species grows to a large 

 size, and is found in rocky situations, but more commonly in deep 

 water. 



Platajc mpcrtilia. 



The two species of Chaetodons, of which figures are here given, 

 have been selected from Mr. J. W. Bennett's ' Fishes of Ceylon,' a 

 work illustrated by beautiful coloured plates. 



(Cuvier, Rtgne Animal; Lacdpede, Histoire Naturdle, Ac., des 

 Poissons ; Bloch, H Moire Naturelle, g(n(rale et particuliire, dee 

 Poiiora.) 



CHAFFINCH, the English name for a well-known species of 

 Fringilla : Sirtfa of Aristotle and the Greeks ; Fringilla and FrigiUa, 

 of Gesner and others ; Franguello, Frangueglio, Fringuello, and 

 Spincione, of the Italians ; Pinson, Pin9on, Grinson, and Quinson, of 

 the French ; Fink, or Buch-Fink (Beech-Finch), Edel-Fink, Gemeine- 

 Fink, Schild-Vink, of the Germans, &c. ; Fincko and Bofincke of the 

 ' Fauna Suecica ;' Asgell-Arian, Wine, of the ancient British ; Fringilla 

 calebt of Linnaeus. It has also the following local names in English : 



