104 ELEVEN-SPINED CENTROPOME. 



From the flattened muzzle and general form of 

 this fish there is some resemblance to the Pike, 

 under which name, with the addition of " sea," it 

 is in some places known. The head is narrow, 

 and when viewed from the side, it appears still 

 more lengthened, from the elongation of the lower 

 jaw, which considerably exceeds that of the upper. 

 The cheeks, opercles, and sub-opercles, are 

 covered with scales. The dorsal fins are triangu- 

 lar, and separated by a larger space than we have 

 yet seen, being in reality distinct. The first has 

 eight, the second eleven rays. The scales are 

 nearly round, rough upon the edges. The lateral 

 line undulates a little near the centre of the fish, 

 is very conspicuous, and forms a black line 

 running the whole length of the body; it is formed 

 by a wide and short tube pierced in each scale. 

 The colour of the fish is silvery, tinted with 

 brown, or greenish on the upper parts, and re- 

 lieved by the deep tint of the lateral line. The 

 first dorsal fin is gray, the others yellowish, finely 

 dotted with black on their edges. 



The next sub-genus has been named by Cuvier 

 Lucioperca, or Pike-perch, from the combination 

 which its type exhibits of the characters of the 

 two fish. It possesses the fins and banding of 

 the latter, with the elongated form of the head 

 and body, and the sharp long teeth of the Pike. 

 The best known species is 





