ICHTHYOLOGY. 



663 



Httor. 



15. Xiphias. 



16. Anarhichas. 

 17- Ammcxlytes. 

 18. Trichiurus. 

 19- Stromateus. 



20. Muraena. 



21. Ophidion. 

 '_'-'. Ciymnotus. 



TRTBCS IV. 



Branch!!* completis. Apcrtura thoracis hiante ; pin- 

 nis membranaceis raJiatis ; ventralibus sub jugulo ; cor- 

 pore squamu minutis tecto vel nudo. JUOULABES. 



23. Lepadogaster. 



24. Blennius. 



25. Gadus. 



26. Uranoscopus. 



27. Callionymus. 



28. Trachinus. 



TBIBUS V. 



Branchiis completis. Apertura thoracis hiante ; pin- 

 ni* membranaceis radiatis ; ventralibus in thorace ; cor- 

 pore sepiu* squamoso quam alepidoto. TIIORACICI. 



29. Cepola. 



30. Coryphsena. 



31. Pleuronectes. 

 .32. Echcneis. 

 r S3. Gobius. 



34. Sparus. 



35. I.abrus. 

 .11. Mullus. 



37. Scomber. 



38. Trigla. 



39. Cha-todon. 



40. Perca. 



41. Gasterosteus. 



42. Scorpwna. 



43. Cottus. 



A. MalacopUrigii 



B. Acanthopterigii. 



44. Zeus. 



THIBCS VI. 



Branchiis completi. Apertura thoracis hiante ; pin- 

 nii membranmceii radiatis, ventralibus in abdomme ; 

 oorpore squamato loricato vel alepidoto. ABDOMINALES. 



45. Salmo. 



46. Argentina. 



47. Amia. 



48. Fistnlaria. 

 49- Esox. 



V Malacopterigii. ^ 50. Cobitis. 



51. Cyprinus. 



52. Exocartu*. 



53. Clupea. 



o 1 Mormyrui. 



55. Athenna. 



56. Silnrus. 



57. Loricaria. 

 ... 58. Theutis. 



59. Flops. 

 I 60. Polynemos. 

 L61. Mugil. 



The four last tribes of this system are obviously those History. 

 of Linnaeus, with the introduction of a subordinate cha- V ~ P V~ 1 '' 

 racter from Ray. We must, however, observe, that 

 among fishes whose fins have soft articulated rays, or 

 are malacopterigious, several species have been inserted 

 by ichthyologists, which were entitled to a place among 

 those with spinous rays, termed Acanthopterigious. 

 Thus many species of the genus Pleuronectes (but not 

 all of them) have a strong spine in front of the anal fin 

 and in the genus Cyprinus, both the carpio and barbus 

 have one serrated spinous ray in the dorsal fin. The 

 species of these two genera are still retained among the 

 malacopterigious fishes, and could not be far removed 

 from their present situation, without destroying the na- 

 tural links of the species. Such inconsistencies will be 

 found in all systems, where characters are employed 

 which exercise but a feeble influence on the animal 

 functions. 



Professor Gouan of Montpellier, made another attempt Gouan. 

 on the classification of fishes, in his Hisloire des Poissons. 

 It is essentially the same as that of Brunich, with some 

 slight alterations in the genera in the branchiostigous 

 divisions. Scopoli in his Introductio ad Historian Na- Scopoli. 

 turalem, (1777.) attempted a new system, founded on 

 the position of the anus. Linnaeus had previously em- 

 ployed the same character in the formation of two ge- 

 nera in his system, namely Trachinus and Argentina. 

 But Scopoli elevated it to the rank of a primary charac- 

 ter, and divided fishes into the three following classes. 



1. Ano inferiere sive caudae plus minus approximate. 



2. Ano superiore, capite plus, minus approximato. 3. 

 Ano medio. The subordinate characters are those which 

 had been employed by former authors. The efforts of 

 these two naturalists to produce systems, were never 

 treated with much attention. 



In the year 1785, the splendid work of Bloch on Bloch. 

 fishes, made its appearance both in German and French. 

 The system is professedly that of Linnaeus, with addi- 

 tions to the number of genera warranted by the re- 

 searches of the author. The descriptions and figures, 

 which are in general of the real size, are from nature, 

 and the economical history of the species is given in de- 

 tail. Walbaum with propriety styles this work, Opus 

 tine pari. 



The ioiithyological department of the Encyclopedic Bonnattrre. 

 Melkodiyte was undertaken by Bonnaterre, and pub- 

 lished in the year 1788. This author, in the systema- 

 tic part of the subject, followed the method of Linnaeus. 

 His introductory matter, however, is more valuable than 

 the systematic part. He has collected with care, the 

 principal facts respecting the anatomy and functions of 

 nahes, and has arranged and defined the characters 

 which he employs. He has added a number of good 

 figures of fishes, chiefly copies from other works. 



In the year 1800, the " Lectures on Comparative A- Cuvier. 

 n.itoin v," by Cuvier made their appearance. Indepen- 

 dent of the important contributions to the physiology 

 of fishes, this author lias attempted a classification of 

 those animals, which merits the consideration of natu- 

 ralitU. The following outline, in which the genera 

 are omitted for want of room, may be acceptable to the 

 systematic enquirer. 



