ANCYLODON. FISHES. 467 



sensible ; external row of teeth largest, and two long ones in 

 the upper jaw ; snout not tumid. 



The Johnius ruler and regalls of Schneider are the types of this genus. 



Gen. 84. ANCYLODON, Cuv. 



Head naked, compressed, armed with dentations and spines ; 

 mouth cleft ; the teeth, particularly those below, in the form 

 of long projecting hooks ; second dorsal fin long, and tail 

 pointed. 



The Lonchium ancylodon of Schneider is the type of this genus. 



Gen. 85. PERCIS, Schn. Scicena, Bloch. 

 Body elongated ; head depressed ; teeth hooked ; first dorsal fin 

 with a few rays, the second running along almost the whole 

 back ; anal fin without spines ; preoperculi slightly dentated, 

 and the operculi spinous. 



P. cylindrica, Cuv. Body cylindrical, yellowish-brown above, sil- 

 very below, marked with eleven brown transverse bands, and two 

 pale brown longitudinal lines ; five spinous rays in the first dorsal 

 fin. 6 inches long Block, pi. 249, fig. 1. 



Gen. 86. TRACHINUS, Lin. 



Body and tail elongated, compressed ; head compressed lateral- 

 ly ; eyes approaching vertically ; a strong spine on the oper- 

 culi, and two small ones before each eye ; shoulder-bones 

 dentated ; second dorsal fin very long ; no swimming-bladder ; 

 ventral and anal fins very much forward. 



T. draco, Lin. The Dragon Weever. Body brownish-yellow ; first 

 dorsal fin black, and five-rayed. 10 to 12 inches long. Inhabits 

 Northern seas. B Shaw, iv. pi. 21. 



The spines of the first dorsal fin of this fish are conceived by the fishermen to be 

 poisonous. It is, however, esteemed as an article of food on the Continent. It is very 

 tenacious of life, and can exist many hours out of the water. The skin is remarka- 

 bly tough. 



3. Head Mailed. 



This tribe comprehends those genera which have the head mailed by the exten- 

 sion, solidity, and hardness of the suborbitaries. Their dorsal fins are sometimes 

 contiguous, sometimes separated. Some have the ventral tins jugular. 



Gen. 87. URANOSCOPUS, Lin. 



Head depressed, almost cubical, thicker than the body, with the 

 eyes above, and directed upwards; lower jaw longer than the 

 upper, and the mouth cleft vertically ; preoperculi crenated 

 below ; a strong spine on each shoulder ; first dorsal fin 

 small, with striated rays ; the second as well as the anal long 

 and soft ; no swimming- vessel. 



U. soaber, Bloch. Brown on the back, gray on the sides, white on 

 the belly ; a membranous jprocess with a long filament at the 

 interior tip of the lower jaw ; lips with smaller cirri. 12 inches 

 long. Inhabits Northern seas. Shaw, iv. pi. 20. 

 This fish generally conceals itself in the mud or fuci, with the tip of the head 



