320 



Div. 1. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS— PISCES. 



Class 4. 



uioutlied Dos-fish. Light-brown, with ocellated spots. All the three are peculiarly destrurtive to the more 

 valuable fishes. Some foreign ones liave a slight difference of character. 



The Sharks properly so called include all species with a produced snout, no nasal grooves, and with 



i caudal lobe more or less forked. They form the genus 



Cai'cfiarias, — a numerous and notorious tribe, 

 with trenchant-pointed teeth, usually serrated in 

 the margins ; the fust dorsal before the ventrals ; 

 the second nearly opposite the anals. They have no 

 sjiiracles ; the nostrils are in the middle of the 

 snout, and the last gill-opening extends over the 

 pectorals. C. vulgaris, the White Shark, is some- 

 times twenty feet long, with isosceles-triangular 

 teeth, ragged at the sides, and the lower ones 

 narrow points placed on wider bases ; these teeth in 

 the mouth of such a fish forming weapons dreaded 

 by all mariners. Found in most seas. [Its appear- 

 ance on the British shores has been mentioned, 

 but it wants authentication.] C. viiljic.t, the Fox- 

 shark, or Thresher.— Triangular teeth in both 

 jaws ; upper lobe of the tail as long as the w hole 

 body ; .second dorsal and anal very small. C. (/faii- 

 cus, the Blue Shark, with curved-sided teeth 

 above, inclining outwards, and straightor ones be- 



FiK. 147.— The White Shark. , „ j .. , 



low ; all ragged on the edges. 

 Lamna, the Porbeagle, differs from a true Shark in the pyramidal snout, and the gill openings before the pec- 

 torals. L. corniibica occasionally appears on the 

 British coast, and its size has caused it to be mis- 

 taken for the AVhite Shark. L. nionensis resembles 

 the last, but has the snout shorter. 



Galeug. — Shaped like the Sharks, but with spira- 

 cles and an anal. G. vulgaris, the Tope, is found 

 on the British shores. 



Miisteliis, resembles the former in shape, but 

 has the teeth like a close pavement. 

 Milavii, the Smooth Hound, is a British species. 

 Kotidaiuis, wants the first dorsal ; has six gill- 

 opening.s, triangular teeth above, and like a Fig. us— The Thresher. 



!<aw below. Two species inhabit the Mediterranean, Has the form of the Sharks, and spiracles, with the gill- 

 openings nearly surrounding the neck ; its teeth are small and not notched. It is the largest of the True Fi.slus, 

 being sometimes thirty-six feet long ; but it is a harmless fish. S. ma.iimiis, the Basking Shark, is found in the 

 British seas. 

 Ccntraeion, has spiral teeth like pavement, and a spine before each dorsal. 



Sjiinax, res(>nil)les Carcharias, but has spiracles ; no anal fin ; several row s of small trenchant teeth ; and a strong 

 spine before each dorsal. .V. acanthcus, the Piked Dog-fish, is a British species. 



t'f/i^'//j«, resembles the last; but the secimd 

 dort-al over the ventrals, and the short tail, give 

 it a clumsy appearance ; its skin is very rough. 

 Sfi/miuis, the Greenland Shark, is more abun- 

 dant in the Arctic seas, and is large anil vora- 

 cious ; but is understood not to attack Jlan. 



Zyga-tia, forms a second genus. Like the 

 Sharks in the body, but with the snout singu- 

 larly produced, forming two pieces like a double- 

 h'adcd hammer, with an eye in the middle of 

 each extremity. The species of the Luropean 

 seas grow to the length of twelve feet, [and we 

 believe larger ones arc met with in southern 

 latitudes]. 



Squaiina, the Angel Fish, has spiriicles and 

 wants the anal ; but it has the mouth at the end 

 of the nnizzle; the eyes in the upper part ot 

 the head ; the head round ; the body broad and 

 flattened horizontally; the pectorals large and 

 far forward, but separated from the back by a 

 lis U9.-ThcU.,um.r.hc:.icdSh..ri<. ^,.j j,, „,e oiH-openings ; their two dorsals are 



behind the \enliab, and the caudal is attached both to the upi)cr and under sides of the tcra'.uiation of the body. 



