302 NATURALIST S CABINET. 



Description. 



the color crimson above, pale or whitish beneath; 

 the head blunt, and armed on each side with two 

 very strong and large spines, pointing back- 

 wards ; the whole body covered with extremely 

 strong cari Dated and sharp-pointed scales, so 

 united as not to be distinctly separable ; the first 

 dorsal fin pale violet, crossed with deeper lines, 

 and at its origin two separate rays longer than 

 the rest; the second dorsal fin pale, with the 

 rays barred with brown; the pectoral fins ex- 

 tremely large, transparent, of an olive green, 

 richly varied with numerous bright blue spots ; 

 the pectoral processes six in number, and not 

 separate, as in other species, but united into the 

 appearance or' a small fin on each side the thorax; 

 the tail pale violet, with the rays crossed by dusky 

 spots, and strengthened on each side the base by 

 two obliquely transverse bony ribs or bars. It is 

 a native of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and In- 

 dian seas, where it swims in shoals, and is often 

 seen flying out of the water to a considerable 

 distance. 



THE CUTTLE FISH. 



THESE are, comparatively, large animals, 

 some being two feet long and upwards. Their 

 structure is very remarkable. The body is cy- 

 lindrical, and, in some of the species, entirely 

 covered with a fleshy sheath; in others, th$ 



