The Torpedo. 425 



THE TOEPEDO, OE ELECTEIC EAY. 



(Torpedo vulgaris.) 



THIS curious fish is capable of giving a violent shock, like 

 ihat produced by the electrical machine, to the person 

 who handles it. The body is nearly circular, and thicker 

 than any other of the Bay kind, and is sometimes so large 

 as to weigh between seventy and. eighty pounds. The 

 skin is smooth, of a dusky brown colour, and white under- 

 neath. The ventral fins form on each side, at the end of 

 the body, nearly a quarter of a circle. The tail is short, 

 and the two dorsal fins are near its origin. The mouth 

 is small, and as in the other species, there are on each 

 side below it five breathing apertures. 



The shock imparted by the touch of the Cramp-fish, as 

 the Torpedo is vulgarly called, is often attended with a 

 sudden sickness at the stomach, a general tremor, a kind 

 of convulsion, and sometimes a total suspension of the 

 faculties of the mind. Such power of self-defence has 

 Providence allowed this lumpish and inactive fish. 

 Whenever an enemy approaches, the Torpedo emits from 

 its body that benumbing shock, which incapacitates the 

 other instantly, and it thereby gets time to escape. Nor 

 is it merelj T a means of defence, but an advantage in 

 other respects, for the Torpedo thus benumbs its prey, 

 and easily seizes upon it. The animals thus killed are 

 also supposed to become more easy of digestion. 



