ACANTHOPTERYGII. 195 



FAMILY II. 



BUCC^E LORICATE. 



THE family of the Mailed-Cheeks contains a numerous suite of fishes, to 

 which the singular appearance of the head, variously mailed and protected, 

 gives a peculiar aspect that has always caused them to be arranged in special 

 genera, although they have many close affinities with the perches. Their 

 common character consists in the sub-orbital being more or less extended over 

 the cheek and articulated behind with the preoperculum. The Uranoscopus 

 is the only one of the preceding family which has any thing like it, but the 

 sub-orbital of the latter, although very broad, is connected behind with the 

 temporal bones, and not with the preoperculum. 



Linnaeus divided them into three genera, TBIGLA, COTTCS, and SCORPJENA ; 

 it has been found necessary, however, to subdivide them, and to add some of 

 his GASTEBOSTEI. 



TRIGLA, Linnaeus. 



The above character strongly marked ; an enormous sub-orbital completely 

 covering the cheek, and even articulated by an immoveable suture with the 

 preoperculum, so as to allow of no separate motion ; sides of the head nearly 

 vertical, giving it a form approaching that of a cube, or parallelepiped ; the 

 bones hard and rough. There are two distinct dorsals, and three free rays 

 under the pectoral. Several species, when caught, utter sounds which have 

 procured for them in France their vulgar name of Grondins ; in England they 

 are called Gurnards. 



The best of these divisions is the 



DACTYLOPTERUS, Lacepede, 



So celebrated under the name of Flying Fishes ; the subpectoral rays are 

 much more numerous and longer ; and instead of being free, as in the pre- 

 ceding ones, they are united by a membrane so as to form a supernumerary fin, 

 longer than the fish, which supports it in the air for some time. Thus they 

 are seen flying above the surface of the water, in order to escape from dol- 

 phins and other voracious fishes ; they fall into it again, however, in a few 

 seconds. 



D. volitans, the Mediterranean species, is a foot long ; brown above, 

 reddish beneath ; fins black, variously marked with blue. 



D. orientalis, Cuv., is a neighbouring species from the Indian Ocean. 



COTTUS, LinncBus. 



Head broad, depressed, mailed, and variously armed with spines or tubercles ; 

 two dorsals ; teeth front of the vomer, but none on the palatines ; six rays in 

 the branchiae, and only three or four in the ventrals. The inferior pectoral 

 rays, as in Trachinus, are not branched. 



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