ACANTHOPTERYGIANS. 97 



eyes, and an oblique mouth ; the first dorsal fin very short, the second 



very long; pectoral fins large, and a stout spine on the operculum. They 



generally remain concealed in the sand ; wounds inflicted by the spines of 



their first dorsal are much dreaded, but their flesh is agreeable. Several 



species are found in the Atlantic, &c. The most common on our coasts is, 



Track, draco, L. ; Salv. 72 ; Trach. lineatus, Bl. Schn. pi. x ; 



and Penn. Brit. Zool. Ill, xxix. (The Dragon Weever). Grey 



and reddish, with blackish spots; blue streaks and yellow tints; 



thirty rays to the second dorsal fin; flanks obliquely striated. We 



have a small species, the 



Track, vipera, Cuv. ; Boideroc, Penn. 28; Bloch, 61. (The 

 Otter-Pike). Paler, with smooth flanks and twenty-four rays in the 

 second dorsal. It is more dreaded than the preceding species, be- 

 cause as it is smaller in size persons are more liable to be stung by 

 it. The Mediterranean contains, 



Trach. araneus. Hiss.; Salvian, 71; copied by Willough. pi. S. 

 10, f. 2. Higher; twenty-eight rays to the second dorsal fin; six 

 or eight black spots along the flank. 



Track, radiatus, Cuv. ; Cuv. and Val. Ill, Ixxii. Twenty-five 

 rays in the second d' rsal fin; head shagreened and rough ; flanks 

 alternately marked wilh large black rings and full spots. 

 The Weevers of remote seas are unknown to us. 



Percis, Bl. Schn. 



These fishes, in some respects, are the representatives of the Weevers 

 in the seas of hot climates. They principally differ from them in the de- 

 pression of their head, and by having hooked teeth in the anterior part 

 of the jaws and vomer; but there are none in the palate. Their first 

 small dorsal fin is somewhat more closely united to the long one which 

 follows it*. 



PiNGUIPES, Cuv. 



Have their forms more heavy than the Percis ; strong conical teeth ; 

 fleshy lips and teeth in the palate ; thick ventrals. 



Ping, brasilianus, Cuv. and Val. Ill, Ixxiv. From Brazil, the 

 only species known. The 



Percophis, Cuv. 



Have the body, on the contrary, much elongated; some of the teeth are 

 long and very pointed, and the end of the lower jaw projects. 



Percoph. brasilianus, Cuv.; Perc. Fahre, Quoy and Gaym., 



* Percis maculata, Bl. Schn. pi. 38;— P. semi-fasciata, Cuv. et Val. Ill, Ixxiii; — 

 P. cijlindrica, or Sciana cijHndrica, Bl. 299, 1, which is also the Bodianus Seba; Bl. 

 Schn. Seb. Ill, xxvii, 16; — P. cancellata, Cuv., or Zaire tetracanthe, Laeep. Ill, 

 p. 473; and II, pi. xiii, f. 3, which is also his Bodian tetracanthe, IV, 302;— P. ocel- 

 lata, Renard, I, vi, 42;— P. colias, Cuv., or Enchelyopus colias, Bl. Schn. p. 54, and 

 the other species described in our third volume of Icthyology. 



VOL. II. H 



