68 LECTURE VIIL 



genus is the fish called the Piper, of a red colour, 

 and celebrated for its excellency as an article of 

 food. But the most remarkable species is the 

 Flying Gurnard, which is of a reddish colour, with 

 very strong scales, and the pectoral fins so very 

 large as to represent a kind of wings, and to 

 enable the animal to use them occasionally in the 

 manner of the flying- Fishes emphatically so called : 

 these broad pectoral fins are also remarkable for 

 the beauty of their colour, being of a fine oblive 

 green, with numerous sapphire -coloured spots. 



The last Linna^an division consists of the Ab- 

 dominal Fishes, or those in which the ventral fins 

 are placed beyond the pectoral ones. This order 

 contains many very curious and interesting genera, 

 of which, however, I shall only particularize a very 

 few, as clear exemplifications of the order. Of 

 these one of the most important is the genus 

 SalmOy comprising all the Salmon and Trout race : 

 a, numerous tribe, distinguished by having a 

 smooth and somewhat lengthened body, with the 

 hind part furnished above with a small fatty fin 

 without any rays. The tongue is cartilaginous, 

 and often beset with teeth as well as the jaws. 



