650 



A HISTORY OF 



elliptical; the head small; both eyes on one 

 side of the head; the fin covering the gills 

 with from four to seven rajs. 



37. The Echineis or Sucking-fish, The bo- 

 dy almost wedge-like, moderately round ; the 

 head broader than the body; the fin covering 

 the gills with ten rays ; an oval breast-plate, 

 streaked in form of a ladder, toothed. 



38. The Lipidopus or Garter-fish. The bo- 

 dy sword-like ; the head lengthened out ; the 

 fins covering the gills with seven rays ; three 

 scales only on the whole body ; two in the 

 place of the ventral fins ; the third from that 

 of the anus. 



Soft-Jinned Abdominal Fish. 



39. THE Lortcaria. The body crusted over; 

 the head broad with a beak; no teeth; the 

 fin covering the gills with six rays. 



40. The Atherina or Atherine. The body 

 oblong ; the head of a middling size ; the lips 

 indented ; the fin covering the gills with six 

 rays; the line on the sides resembling a sil- 

 ver band. 



41. The Salmo or Salmon. The body ob- 

 long; the head a little sharp; the fin cover- 

 ing the gills from four to ten rays ; the last 

 fin on the back, without its correspondent 

 muscles, fat. 



42. The Fistularia. The body angular, in 

 form of a spindle ; the head pipe-fashion, with 

 a beak; the fin covering the gills with seven 

 rays; the under jaw covering the upper. 



43. The Esox or Pike. The body round ; 

 the head with a beak ; the under jaw pierced 

 longitudinally with small holes; the fin cover- 

 ing the gills with from seven to twelve rays. 



44. The Argentina OT Argentine. The body 

 a little round and slender; the head with a 

 beak, broader than the body ; the fin covering 

 the gills with eight rays; a spurious back-fin. 



45. The Clupea or Herring. The body a 

 little oblong; the head with a small beak; 

 the fin covering the gills with eight rays. 



46. The Exocetus or Flying-fish. The body 

 oblong; the head almost three-cornered; the 

 fin covering the gills with seven rays; the 

 pectoral fins placed high, and as long as the 

 whole body; the back-fin at the extremity of 

 the back. 



47. TheCy/mmtsor Carp. The body elon- 



gated, almost round ; the head with a small 

 beak; the hinder part of the bone covering 

 the gills, marked with a crescent; the fin co- 

 vering the gills with three rays. 



48. The Cobitis or Loach. The body ob- 

 long; almost equally broad throughout; the 

 head small, a little elongated ; the eyes in the 

 hinder part of the head; the fin covering the 

 gills from four to six rays; the covers of the 

 gills closed below. 



49. The Amia or Bonito. The body round 

 and slender; the head, forehead, and breast, 

 without skin; the fin covering the gills with 

 twelve rays ; two beards from the nose. 



50. The Mormyrus. The body oblong ; the 

 head elongated ; the fin covering the gills 

 with a single ray; the opening to the gills is 

 linear, and has no bone covering them. 







Such is the system of Mr Gouan; by re- 

 ducing to which any fish that offers, we caa 

 know its rank, its affinities, and partly its ana- 

 tomy, all which make a considerable part in 

 its natural history. But, to show the use of 

 this system still more apparently, suppose I 

 meet with a fish, the name to me unknown, 

 of which I desire to know something more. 

 The way is first to see whether it be a car- 

 tilaginous fish, which may be known by its 

 wanting fins to open and shut the gills, which 

 the cartilaginous kinds are wholly without. 

 If I find that it has them, then it is a spinous 

 fish; and in order to know its kind, I examine 

 its fins, whether they be prickly or soft : I find 

 them soft ; it is therefore to be ranked among 

 the soft-finned fishes. I then examine its ven- 

 tral or belly fins, and finding (hat the fish has 

 them, I look for their situation, and find they 

 lie nearer to the tail than the pectoral fins. 

 By this I find the animal to be a soft-finned 

 abdominal fish. Then, to know which of the 

 kinds of these fishes it is, I examine its figure 

 and the shape of its head : I find the body 

 rather oblong; the head with a small beak; 

 the lower jaw like a saw; the fin covering 

 the gills with eight rays. This animal must 

 therefore be the herring, or one of that fami- 

 ly, such as the pilchard, the sprat, the shiid, 

 or the anchovy. To give another instance: 

 Upon examining the fins of a fish to me un- 

 known, I find them prickly; I then look for 

 the situation of the ventral fins, I find them 



