284 A HISTORY OF 



Again, Linnaeus has taught him to remark the situation of the fins 

 for the ventral or belly-fins, which are those particularly to be remark 

 ed, are either wholly wanting, as in the eel, and then the fish is call- 

 ed Apodal (a Greek word signifying without feet;) or the ventral-fins 

 are placed more forward than the pectoral-fins, as in the haddock 

 and then the animal is called a Jugular-fish ; or the ventral-fins are 

 placed directly under the pectoral-fins, as in the father-lasher, and 

 then it is called a Thoracic-fish : or, lastly, the ventral-fins are placed 

 nearer the tail than the pectoral-fins, as in the minnow, and then it is 

 an Abdominal-fish. 



Possessed of these distributions, the French naturalist mixes and 

 unites them into two grand divisions. All the prickly-finned fish 

 make one general division ; all the soft-finned fish another. Those 

 first are distinguished from each other, as being either apodal, jugu- 

 lar, thoracic, or abdominal. Thus there are prickly-finned apodal 

 fishes ; prickly-finned jugular fishes, prickly-finned thoracic fishes, 

 and prickly-finned abdominal fishes. On the other hand, the soft-fin- 

 ned fishes fall under a similar distribution, and make the other gene- 

 ral division. Thus there are soft-finned apodal fishes, soft-finned ju- 

 gular fishes, soft-finned thoracic fishes, and soft-fin nedaJdommaZfishes. 

 These general characters are strongly marked, and easily remember- 

 ed. It only remains, therefore, to divide these into such tribes as are 

 most strongly marked by Nature ; and to give the distinct character 

 of each, to form a complete system with great simplicity. This Mr 

 GOUSLI has done ; and the tribes into which he has distributed each 

 of these divisions, exactly amount to fifty. Thus the reader, who can 

 contain in his memory the characteristic marks of fifty kinds, will have 

 a tolerable idea of the form of every kind of spinous fish. I say, of 

 the form ; for as to the history and nature of the animal itself, that 

 can only be obtained by experience and information. 



SECTION I. 



PRICKLY-FINNED FISHES. 



Prickly-finned Apodal Fish. 



1. THE Triclmrus. The body of a sword-form ; the head oblong ; 

 the teeth sword-like, bearded near the points ; the fore-teeth largest; 

 the fin that covers the gills with seven spines; the tail ending in a 

 a point without fins; an inhabitant near the orienial and American 

 shores ; of a silvery white ; frequently leaping into the fishermen's 

 boats in China. 



2. The Xiphias or Sword-fish. The body round :-the head long; 

 the upper jaw terminating by a long beak, in form of a sword ; the 

 fin that covers the gills with six spines ; an inhabitant of Europe , 

 an enemy to the whale. 



3. The Gphidium or Gilt-head. The body sword-like ; the head 

 blunt; the fin covering the gills with seven spines ; the opening of 

 the mouth side-ways ; the fins of the back, the anus, and the tail 

 all joining together ; the most beautiful of all fishes, covered over with 



