Series 1. Order 1. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 293 



they swallow entire]. There are several species found in the European seas, of which the flesh is 

 much esteemed. 



M. cephalus, the Grey Mullet, has the eyes half covered by two adipose membranes, adhering to the anterior 

 and posterior mar;jins of the orbit ; when the mouth is closed the maxillary is completely hidden muier the 

 suborbital ; the base of the pectoral has a long; crest with a keel ; the nostrils are separated by a considerable 

 si)ace, and the teeth are a little prominent. It is the largest and best of the Mediterranean species. [It occurs 

 also on the British shore, though, perhaps, not so frequently as another species, the Thick-lipped Grey Mullet, 

 M. chelo. The two are, however, sometimes confounded with each other. In addition to these, there is another 

 Grey Mullet, lirst described by Mr. Yarrell, and which, from its shortness in proportion to the length, he has 

 called 3/. curtus. With the exception of its form, its small size, and some difterence in the rays of the pectoral, 

 anal, and caudal fins, it bears considerable jesemblance to M. cephalun.'] 



M. capita, the Ramando of Nice, has the maxillary \isible behind the commissure of the jaws, even when th» 

 mouth is shut ; its teeth are nmch weaker : its nasal openings nearer to each other ; and the membrane of the eye 

 does not cover any part of the ball. The scale before the pectoral is short and blunt, and there is a black spot at 

 the base of that fin. 



Two much smaller species {M. aureus and M. saltator of Risso) resemble M. capita. Thefirst has the maxillaries 

 under the suborbitals, like Cephalus, but the nostrils are near each other, as in Capito. The second, with the cha- 

 racters of Capito, have the suborbital notched, showing the maxillary. 



M. chelo, is common in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is easily distinguished by its thick fleshy Ups, 

 by their ciliated edges, and by the teeth which penetrate their substance like hairs. The maxillary is cur\"ed, and 

 appears behind the commissure. M. labia, a small American species, has proportionally larger lips, with their 

 margins curved. There are also some thick-lipped species in the Indian seas. [There seems little doubt that 

 Chelo is the Grey Mullet, which is so frequently taken in the bays and estuaries on the Channel coast, although 

 not the one generally described as such]. 



Tetraganurui, is so named from the projecting keels or ridges on each side, near the base of the caudal. It ip 

 also one of those insulated genera which indicate particular families, [rather than belong to any of those esta- 

 blished ones]. They in part resemble the Mullets, and in part the Mackerels. Their body is elongated ; their 

 spine is dorsal, long, but very low ; their soft dorsal, which approaches the other, higher and shorter ; their anal 

 is opposite the soft dorsal, and their ventrals a little behind the pectorals; the sides of the lower jaw are raised 

 vertically, and furnished with a single row of trenchant teeth like a saw, and inclosed, when the mouth is shut, by 

 the upper teeth ; there is also a small range of teeth upon each parietal bone, and two on the vomer ; the gullet is 

 furnished internally with hard and pointed papillae ; their stomach is fleshy, and doubled ; their cara numerous, 

 ^and their intestinal canal long. Only one species is known, an inhabitant of the Mediterranean, about a foot long, 

 and black : its flesh is believed to be poisonous. 



Athcrina, is a genus which does not completely harmonize w ith any other, and therefore it is arranged between 

 the Mullets and the Gobies. It has a lengthened body, two dorsals far apart, ventrals behind the pectorals, the 

 mouth protractile, and furnished with very small teeth. All the known species have a broad silvery band along 

 each flank. Tliey have six gill-rays; their stomach is a cul-de-sac, and no co?cidar appendages. The last trans- 

 verse process of the dorsal veitebrae are bent, forming a sort of conical receptacle for the end of the air-bladder. 

 They are small fishes, much esteemed for the delicacy of their flesh ; and the fry remain a long time in shoals 

 along the shores, and are consumed in great numbers. Four species are found in the Mediterranean, and there 

 are a good many foreign ones. [A. presbyter, is found on the south coast of England, and also on the east coast 

 as far as Lincolnshire, and in the Firth of Forth, but not abundantly. On the coasts of Hampshire and Sussex it 

 is plentiful ; and on the Cornish coast it is taken at all seasons. It is a handsome little fish, about six inches long, 

 known as the Sand Smelt, but inferior in flavour to the true Smelt.] 



THE T^YELFTH F.\MILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII. 

 GoBioD^ (the Goby Family). 



The fishes of this family are known by the thinness and flexibility of their dorsal spines. Tlicy all 



have the same kind of viscera, — namely, a long, 

 uniform, intestinal canal, without cceca, and 

 no air-bladder. [The family contains several 

 genera, some of which admit of subdivision]. 



Blennius. Tlie Blennies have one well-marked 

 character in their ventral fins, inserted before 

 the pectorals, and having only two rays each. 

 The stomach is slender, with no cul-de-sac; the 

 intestine large, without cceca, and there is no 

 air-bladder. The form is elongated and com- 

 pressed, and there is but one dorsal, composed 

 Fig. no.— Bienniua. almost entirely of jointless but flexible rays. 



