480 FISHES. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



Gen. 126. XIPHIAS, Lin. 



Snout prolonged, resembling the blade of a sword ; strong aspe- 

 rities in the jaws in place of teeth ; body elongated, round- 

 ed, with scarcely perceptible scales ; a projecting carina on 

 each side of the tail ; pectoral fins long and pointed ; two 

 or three anterior rays of the dorsal fin spinous ; no ventral fin. 



X. gladius, Lin. The Sword- Fish. Snout very long, flattened, and 

 edged ; first dorsal fin commencing near the nape, high and point- 

 ed anteriorly, sinking along the back, and terminated by a smaller 

 point ; anal fin with two points, short ; tail lunated ; body brown- 

 ish, shaded with steel blue above, silvery white below. 12 to 20 



feet long. Snout 2 to 3 feet. Inhabits European seas. B 



Shaw, iv. pi. 14. 

 The snout of this fish has been supposed hard enough to penetrate the planks of 



ships ; and Mr Scoresby relates an instance of a ship from the coast of Africa, the 



bow of which had been penetrated by a bone, which he considered as the snout of 



the Sword-fish. This fish is used as food in Sicily. 



X. Makaira, Shaw. Snout not so long as the preceding ; lower jaw 

 about half the length of the upper ; first dorsal fin large ; tail 

 large, lunated, marked by numerous black spots, with two bony 

 prominences on each side the base. Size of the preceding. In- 

 habits European seas. Shaw, iv. pi. 16. 



Gen. 127. ISTIOPHORUS, Lacepede. Scomber, Bloch. 

 Upper jaw prolonged like the blade of a sword ; ventral fins 

 with two slender and very long rays ; first dorsal fin large 

 and elevated, forming a kind of vertical sail, with which they 

 catch the wind when swimming at the surface. 



I. platypterus. (Xiphias platypterus, Shaw.) Body bluish silvery ; 



the back, head, fins, and tail deeper, fading to brown when dried. 



20 feet long. Inhabits tropical seas. Shaw, iv. pi. 15. 



As an instance of the amazing strength which this fish is able to exert, it may be 

 mentioned that a plank of an East Indiaman, in which the sword was driven near- 

 ly to its base, is preserved in the British Museum. 



Gen. 128. CENTROLOPHUS, Lacep. Coryphcena, Lin. 

 Body elongated, with small scales ; head oblong, obtuse ; teeth 

 fine and in one row ; head edged above, and a row of very 

 short spinous prominences before the dorsal fin ; anal short- 

 er than the dorsal fin. 



C. niger, Lacep. (C. pompilus, Lin.) Body dusky, with transverse 

 yellowish stripes over the curved lateral line. Inhabits Medi- 

 terranean and Atlantic seas. Shaw, iv. 220. 



Gen. 1^9- OLIGOPODUS, Risso. 



Body elongated ; covered with small scales ; head edged above ; 

 dorsal prominences sensible only to the finger ; dorsal and 

 anal fins united to the caudal, which terminates in a point ; 

 one ray in the ventral fins. 



