Perches.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



139 



Series I. Ossei 

 Section 1. Pectinibianchii 

 Order 1. Acantliopterygii 

 Family Percidse Family Theutyes 



Loricati 



Scicenidae 



Spaiidae 



Msenidae 



Sqiiamipinnali 



Scombridae 



Taenioid* 



Pharyngiens laby- 



rinthiformes 

 Mugilidae 

 Gol)iadae 

 Lophiadie 

 Labiidae 

 Centriscidsp 



Malacopterygii 



2. Siibbrachiales 

 Family Gadidie 



Pleuronectidse 



Discoboli 



Echeneidida 



Order 2 

 1. Abdominales 

 Family Cyprinidae 

 Esocidse 

 Siluiida; 

 Salmonida 

 Clupeidae 



Order 3. Apodes 



Fara. — Murscnidae 



Section 2. Plcctognalbi 



Fam. — Gymnodontidce : Sclerodcrim 

 Vol. II. 



very conspicuous, each scale being pierced through 

 near the centre by a tube, from which oozes a 

 mucous secretion, the product of glands beneath; 

 with this mucus the external surface is lubricated. 



Among the external organs which afford charac- 

 ters for the discrimination of genera, families, and 

 orders, the tins assume an important place ; they 

 differ in number and form, and have different names 

 according to their situation. In some instances 

 they are supported by slender pointed processes of 

 bone, consisting each of a single undivided piece ; 

 such are called spinous rays. In other cases the 

 rays consist of a number of minute parts united 

 together, and often terminating in several filamen- 

 tous branches ; such rays from their pliant structure 

 are termed soft or flexible rays. Two leading divi- 

 sions in systematic arrangements are founded on 

 this difference of structure. 



Referring to Fig. 2373, the Skeleton of the Perch, 

 the fins and some of the more important points of 

 structure are lettered for the sake of clearness : a is 

 the pectoral fin of one side ; 6, the ventral ; c, c, are 

 two dorsal fins, of which the first is supported by 

 spinous rays, the second by flexible rays; d, the 

 anal fin ; / is the maxillary or upper jaw bone ; e 

 is the intermaxillary bone, a distinct bone from 

 the maxillary; r/ is the operculum; h, the sub- 

 operculum ; i, the prasopercukim ; /(, the interoper- 

 culum ; the fin terminating the body is called the 

 caudal fin. Araonsr existing fishes this is either 

 simple, as in the eel ; bifurcate, as in the salmon ; 

 expanded to a round figure, as in the wrasse ; or 

 unequally bilobate, as in the shark. Fishes with 

 the latter form of tail are termed by M. Agassiz 

 Ileterocercal. the others are called Homocercal. 

 See Fig. 2374, where a represents the Tail of the 

 Eel ; b, the Salmon ; c, the Wrasse ; d, the Shark. 



The peculiarity of tlie Heterocercal fishes is that 

 the vertebral column runs along the upper caudal 

 lobe : in the other forms of tail it is symmetrically 

 placed with respect to the posterior finny expansion. 

 M. Agassiz has found this peculiarity of the tail, 

 which is least common among living fishes, and 

 confined to particular groups, to belong to every 

 species of fishes, of whatever group, and however 

 differing in other respects, which occur in strata 

 older than the oolitic system, while in and above 

 that system Homocercal forms appear. It is there- 

 fore a characteristic of geological time ; and is one 

 among several marks of the sauroid character of the 

 fishes which lived in early geological periods. 



Fig. 237;") represents — A, the Upper Jaw of a Trout; 

 e, the Intermaxillary Bone ; /, the Maxillary Bone : 

 B, the front view of the Mouth of the Trout, open ; 

 I, the Vomer, one of the palate bones furnished with 

 teeth; >n, m, the Palatal Bones, also armed in the 

 same manner ; n, the Tongue, with recurved teeth. 



Fig. 2376 is a fanciful picture of the depths of 

 the sea, tenanted by fishes swimming through 

 the silent tranquil waters, undisturbed by the 

 storms that agitate the surface ; Fig. 2377, a Group 

 of Fishes. 



In all fishes, the skeleton is less firm, less con- 

 solidated than in quadrupeds and birds ; yet in some 

 are the bones more thoroughly ossified than in 

 others, hence has Cuvier divided the present class 

 into two primary series, namely, into Osseous Fishes 

 (Ossei), and Cartilaginous (Cartilaginei or Chond- 

 ropterygii). In the former, the osseous matter is 

 deposited in fibres. The sutures of the cranium are 

 distinct, and maxillary and intermaxillary bones are 

 either one or both present. In the Cartilaginous 

 fishes, the skeleton continues in a state of cartilage ; 

 the sutures of the cranium are indistinct ; maxillary 

 and intermaxillary bones are either wanting or 

 rudimentary, their place being supplied by the 

 palatal. 

 The class is divided by Cuvier as follows : — ■ 



Section 3. Lophobranchii 



Fam. — Syngnathidae 



Series 11. Cartilaginei or Chondropterygii 



Order 1. Eleutheropomi 



Fam. — Sturionidae ; Chimaeridae 



Order 2. Plagiostomi 



Fam. — SqualidiE ; Raiidae 



Order 3. Cyclostomi 



Fam. — Pteromyzidae 



In the Ossei, or bony fishes, there are three sec- 

 tions. Those of the first, the Pectinibranchii, 

 possess the following characters : — Branchiae, in 

 continuous pectinated ridges, furnished with an 

 opercular and branchiostegous membrane ; jaws com- 

 plete and free. Section 2, Plectognathi ; — Branchiaa 

 with the pectinations continuous ; opeicule and rays 

 concealed beneath the skin ; external aperture a 

 simple cleft ; jaws incomplete ; maxillary firmly at- 

 tached to the side of the intermaxillary, which alone 

 forms the jaw ; palatine arch united to the cranium 

 by suture, and immovable. To this section belong 

 the globe-fishes, file-fishes, &c. Section 3, Lopho- 

 branchii : — Branchiae in small tufts; opercule large, 

 confined on all sides by a membrane, with only a 

 small hole for the external aperture ; branchios- 

 tegous rays rudimentary ; jaws complete and free. 

 To this section belong the pipe-fishes, hippocam- 

 pus, &c. 



The two latter sections contain but a limited num- 

 ber of species : the Pectinibranchii, on the contrary, 

 contain all the ordinary and typical fishes, and, as 

 is seen in the foregoing list, is subdivided into three 

 orders. The fishes of the first of these orders, the 

 Acanthopterygii, are distinguished by their having 

 the anterior part of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins 

 furnished with simple spinous rays. The perches, 

 mullets, gurnards, mackerels, &c., therefore belong 

 to this order. In the second order, the Malacop- 

 terygii, all the fin-rays are flexible, with the excep- 

 tion sometimes of the first ray of the dorsal and 

 pectoral fins. The three principal divisions of 

 the Malacopterygii are founded either upon the 

 position of certain fins, or their absence. In 

 the first division, the Abdominales, the ventral fins 

 are situated far behind the pectorals; as in the carp, 

 tench, bream, dace, roach, pike, salmon, &c. In 

 the second group, the Subbrachiales, the ventral 

 fins are situated immediately beneath the pectorals 

 (or even a little before them) ; as we find them in 

 the cod-fish, haddock, and whiting. The flat fishes 

 also belong to this group, such as the plaice, floun- 

 der, turbot, sole, &c. To the third and last ofthese 

 greater divisions of the Malacopterygii belong the 

 eels, which have received the name Apodes, from 

 their possessing no ventral fins. 



In illustration of the three orders into which the 

 Cartilaginei are divided, the Sturgeon will serve as 

 an example of the first, or the Eleutheropomi. The 

 Plagiostomi contain the Sharks and Rays ; and the 

 Lampreys and Myxines chiefly constitute the Cy- 

 clostomi. 



ORDER ACANTHOPTERYGII, 



Family PERCID^ (PERCHES). 



2378.— The Perch 

 {Perca fluviatilis). In the genus Perca there are 

 two dorsal fins, distinct^ from each other : the rays of 

 the first fin are spinous, of the second flexible. The 

 tongue is smooth; there are teeth in both jaws on 

 the vomer and palate bones, praeopercukim notched 

 below and serrated on the posterior edge ; opercu- 

 lum o.sseous, ending in a point directed backwards. 

 Branchiostegous rays seven ; scales hard. 



The perch, which was well known to the ancients, 

 is one of our most common freshwater fishes, 

 abounding in rivers, lakes, and ponds ; especially 

 such as are clear, where it is fond of lurking in 

 shoals under the banks, or of swimming near the 

 surface. It is spread throughout the whole of tem- 

 perate Europe, and exists in Lapland. Its food 

 consists of insects, worms, and fishes, which it seizes 

 with great voracity. Walton, indeed, describes the 

 perch as " a very bold-biting fish," — whence it is 

 an easy prey to the angler, who often captures on 

 his hook considerable numbers in rapid succession, 

 one after another eagerly taking the bait. 



Mr. Turton, an experienced angler of Sheffield, 

 mentions an instance in which sixty perch were 

 taken by the red worm, during a few hours, one 

 evening, out of a reservoir near Chapel-en-le-Frith 

 in Derbyshire. This fish is easily tamed, and may 

 be made so familiar as to take food from the hancl. 

 Mr. .Jesse informs us, that in a piscatorium or pre- 

 serve at Bushy Park, the perches proved the boldest 

 and most familiar of any fish, and that he soon 

 found no difficulty in getting them to take a worm 

 out of his hand. 



The perch, like the carp, is very tenacious of life, 

 and if packed in wet moss, and occasionally refreshed 

 with water, it will live for many hours ; indeed, in 



some parts of the Continent, they are taken from 

 the pond in the raorniuir, carried thus to the market, 

 and, if not sold, restored to their liquid home in the 

 evening. Those who handle the perch alive, should 

 be careful of the sharp spinous rays of the first 

 dorsal fin, by which we have known the fingers 

 lacerated. This species difl'ers much in size, appa- 

 rently according to the quality of the water and 

 nutriment. They in general average from half a 

 pound to a pound ; a perch of three pounds would 

 be considered as very large : Mr. Jesse stairs, that 

 " great numbers of perch are bred in the Hampton 

 Court and Bushy Park ponds, all of which are well 

 supplied with running water, and with plenty of 

 food. Yet they seldom arrive at a large size. In a 

 neighbouring pond, which is only fed with drainage 

 water, I have caught very large perch. The perch 

 in the Regent's Park are very numerous. Those I 

 have taken, however, are almost invariably of one 

 size, from half to three-quarters of a. pound. Why 

 they should have arrived at this size, and not go on 

 increasing in magnitude, is a circumstance wiiich 

 it is not easy to account for. I have, however, re- 

 marked it to be the case in other ponds." 



Mr. Yarrell gives many instances of enormous 

 perch having been taken in difterent places, varying 

 from five to nine pounds in weight. The flesh of 

 the perch is firm, white, and of good flavour. The 

 spawning time is at the end of April or beginning 

 of May. The roe of a small perch, only half a pound 

 in weight, has been found to contain 280,000 eggs. 

 The form and colours of the perch are too well 

 known to need description. We may observe, how- 

 ever, that there are two external openings to each 

 nostril, surrounded by the orifices of numerous mu- 

 cous ducts, from which oozes a secretion for defending 

 the skin from the action of the water. On this 

 Mr. Yarrell remarks, "the distribution of the nu- 

 inerous orifices over the head is one of those beau- 

 tiful and advantageous provisions of nature, which 

 are so often to be observed and admired. Whether 

 the fish inhabits the stream or the lake, the current 

 of water in one instance, or progression through it 

 in the other, carries this defensive secretion back- 

 wards and spreads it over the whole surface of the 

 body. In fishes with small scales this defensive 

 secretion is more abundant in proportion ; and in 

 those species which have the body elongated, as the 

 eels, the mucous orifices may be observed along the 

 whole length of the lateral line. 



The following is the formula of the fin-roys : — 

 D. 15. 1-1-13. P. 14. V. 1-1-5. A. 2-1-8. C. 17. 

 The meaning is this : D., the dorsal, has in the first 

 fin 15 rays all spinous ; in the second fin, 1 spinous, 

 and 13 that are soft. P., the pectoral fin, has 14 

 soft rays. V., the ventral fin, with 1 spinous ray, 

 and 5 that are soft. A., the anal fin, with 2 spinous 

 and 8 that are soft. C, the caudal fin, with 17 

 rays. The formula, abbreviated as above, is very 

 convenient, and easily understood. 



2379, 2380.— The Basse 



(Labrax Lupus). Perca labrax, Linn. In its ge- 

 neric characters, Labrax closely approximates to 

 Perca ; the cheeks, praeoperculum and operculum 

 are covered with scales ; the praeoperculum is 

 notched below, and serrated posteriorly ; the oper- 

 culum ends in two points directed backwards ; the 

 tongue is covered with small teeth. 



This Basse may be regarded as a marine perch, 

 and was known to the Greeks by the name of La- 

 brax (^aJ3paf), from Labros (\a$pos), voracious ; the 

 Romans from its disposition called it Lupus, or 

 wolf. It was caught abundantly in the Mediter- 

 ranean, and highly esteemed for the table. It is found 

 along the whole line of our southern coast, and 

 in St. George's and the Bristol Channel. It also 

 frequents the eastern shore of the Irish coast. 



The Basse associates in shoals, which at the 

 spawning time frequent the mouths of rivers, or 

 even advance up the stream to a considerable dis- 

 tance ; indeed, as has been proved by Mr. Arnold, 

 this fish will not only live, but thrive in fresh water 

 altogether, the flesh acquiring a superior flavour. 

 This fish generally measures from twelve to eijhteen 

 inches in length, but is often caught much larger, 

 and Willughby states that individuals have beeii 

 captured of the weight of fifteen pounds. 



Its food consists of small fishes and various crus- 

 taceans ; and as it takes the bait lieely it may be cap- 

 tured with the rod and line. The net is most gene- 

 rally employed. On the Kentish coast the Basse is. 

 termed the sea-dace. 



In its form this fi.sh is more elongated than the 

 perch. The nostrils have two orifices ; the mucous 

 pores are numerous. The general colour of the- 

 back is dusky blue, passing on the under-parts into- 

 silvery white; the fins are brown; the irides sil- 

 very ; the scales are moderate and adhere firmly. 



2381.— The Black Basse 

 {Centrophtis nigricans). The genus Centropistis 

 belongs to the ilivision of the Percidae with bran- 



T2 



