426 FISHES. SUBHACHIATI., 



and almost lost in the thickness of the skin ; two first rays 

 of the ventral fins elongated, 



R. trifurcaius, Cuv. (Blennius trifurcaius, Shaw.) Body brown, 

 compressed ; lips white ; second dorsal fin reaching almost to 

 the tail ; ventral fins slender and trifurcate ; lateral line tuber- 

 culated above the pectoral fins. 8 to 12 inches long. Inhabits 

 British seas. Pen?i. Brit. Zool. iii. pi. 38. 



R. blennioides. (Batrachoides blennioides, Lacep.) Head depres- 

 sed and broader than the body ; mouth turned up, and white 

 within ; second dorsal and anal fins equal j two first rays of the 

 ventral fins long and filiform. Shaw, iv. 183. 



Gen. 9. LEPIDOLEPRUS, Risso. 



Body and head covered with rough carinated scales ; two dor- 

 sal fins, the first short and elevated, the second very long, 

 and uniting, as well as the anal fin, into a point at the tail ; 

 teeth short, very small. 



L. trachyrhynchus, Risso. Body elongated and compressed behind 

 like the blade of a sword, and covered with rough osseous scales, 

 forming crests at many points ; snout prolonged and triangular 

 at the point ; first dorsal fin blackish, with eleven rays ; the se- 

 cond gray, and not far from the first ; dorsal and anal fins arising 

 from a furrow, with a row of spines on each side. Inhabits Me- 

 diterranean sea Risso, pi. 7j fig- 21. 



L. ccelorhynchus, Risso. Snout depressed, advancing above the 

 mouth. Body grayish, shaded with violet red. 5 inches long. 

 Inhabits Mediterranean sea Risso, pi. 7- fig- 22. 



Gen. 10 MACROURUS, Bloch. 



Scales carinated and rough ; teeth small and in many rows ; 

 two dorsal fins, the first strong and elevated, the second long, 

 and forming a point with the anal fin at the tail ; a cirrus on 

 the lower jaw. 



M. rupestris, Bloch. Head large and thick, the upper jaw projec- 

 ting above and obtuse ; body silvery gray, deepest on the upper 

 parts, and gradually tapering into a long, slender, and pointed 

 tail. 3 feet long. Inhabits Northern seas, Shaw, iv. pi. 33. 



FAMILY II. PLEURONECTES. 



This family is characterized by the singular circumstance of the eyes being both 

 on the same side, which also remains uppermost when the animal swims. The 

 side on which the eyes are placed is also always coloured, while the opposite side 

 is whitish. The other parts of their body partake somewhat of this want of 

 symmetry. The two sides of the mouth are not equal, and it is rare that the pec- 

 toral fins are so. The body is compressed vertically ; the dorsal fin runs along the 

 whole back ; the anal fin occupies the under part, and the ventrak have almost the 

 appearance of continuity before, from their being often united together. There 

 are five rays in the branchial membrane. The abdominal cavity is small, but is 

 prolonged in a sinus in the thickness of the sides of the tail. They have no swim- 

 ming vessel, as they rarely quit the bottom. The cranium has a particular arrange- 

 ment from the two orbits being placed on the same side. The bones, however, are 



