712 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Cl*iCea- s i n ce the days of Linnaeus. The Swedish naturalist 

 included all the species known to him in sixty-one ge- 



i_- "^j- nera ; we have enumerated two-hundred and twenty- 

 five. We are persuaded, however, that the characters 

 employed in the formation of not a few of the modern 

 genera, ought to have been confined to the definition of 

 species merely. Many of the names employed to-de- 

 signate the genera and species by former authors, have 

 been suppressed by La Cepede, and new terms em- 

 ployed in their place, in many cases without any apo- 

 logy for the change being offered. We would earnestly 



Britith 

 Ssha. 



Lamprey. 



Hag. 



recommend to those who cultivate this branch of Zoo- 

 logy, to respect and follow the excellent and judicious 

 rules laid down by Artedi ; otherwise ichthyology will 

 continue a mere heap of rubbish, destitute of fixed 

 principles, and a determinate nomenclature. 



The reader, in perusing our account of the genera, 

 must have been struck with the occurrence of the same 

 genera in the same relation to other genera, in the sys- 

 tems of Linnaeus and La Cepede, although the prin- 

 ciples employed in the construction of the primary divi- 

 sions of these two systems differ widely from each other. 



BRITISH FISHES. 



As many of our readers are probably anxious to be- 

 come acquainted with the number of fishes which are 

 natives of the seas, lakes, and rivers of the British 

 isles, we subjoin a synoptical view of the present state 

 of our native ichthyology. The addition of the charac- 

 ters by which the species are distinguished, would have 

 augmented the list to an inconvenient length, so that 

 we have confined our short observations, annexed to 

 each species, to a notice of the more common provin- 

 cial names and places of residence. The reader who 

 wishes more extensive information on the subject may 

 consult those works already enumerated in the histori- 

 cal part of this article, which treat of British fishes. 



CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. 



GENUS I. PETROMYZON. Lamprey. 



1. P. marinus. Sea Lamprey. 



The Lamprey is common in the greater rivers of the 

 three kingdoms, into which it enters for the purpose of 

 spawning. In Scotland it is called lamjier eel. 



2. P._ftaviatilis. Lesser lamprey. 



Equally common with the preceding species in the 

 same situations. It is however found in the lesser 

 streams and rivulets into which the sea lamprey does 

 not enter. It is the nine eyed eel of the Scotch. 



3. P. branchialis. Pride or lampern. 



This species is not so common as the two which we 

 have noticed. It is found, however, in several of the 

 English rivers. 



GENUS- II. GASTIIOBRANCHUS, Hag. 



4. G. glutinosus. Glutinous hag. 



The hag is perhaps no where common on our coasts, 

 although it has been met with at various places. 



GENUS III. RAIA. Ray or Skate. 



5. R. bails. Skate or Flaire. 



Common on all parts of the coast. Mr Neill informs 

 us, that in the Firth of Forth it is called blue skate, 

 grey skate, or Dinnen skate. 



6. R. oxyrinchus. Sharp-nosed ray. 



This is equally common as the skate, and sometimes 

 confounded with it. In the Forth it is called mite 

 skate, friar skate, May skate, or mavis skate. 



7. R. clavata. Thornback. 



Very common on all parts of the coast. Montagu 

 considered the R. fullonica of some authors as the male 

 thornback. The teeth in the males of this species are 

 sharp, and in the females blunt. 



8. R. Aspera. Rough ray of Pennant. 



Ihis species was found by Pennant in Loch Broom. 

 Montagu is inclined to consider it as a variety of the 

 thornback while Donovan regards it as the same with 

 K. rubus. The description left us by Pennant, 

 would lead us to consider it as different from any of 

 these species. 



9. R. tuberculata. Shagreen ray. 



This species was first observed by Pennant at Scar- 

 borough. It has since occurred to Montagu on the De- 

 von coast, where it is called dun-con. 



10. R. rubus. Land ray, or French ray. 



Montagu, to whom we are indebted for much valua- 

 ble information with regard to the species of rays, con. 

 siders the R. rubus and miraletus of Donovan as syno- 

 mous, and females, while he regards the Fuller's ray of 

 Pennant as the male. The opinion of such an eminent 

 zoologist will always be received with respect, but we 

 do not see the propriety of the new trivial name macu- 

 Jata, by which he has proposed to designate the species. 



1 1. R marginala. Bordered ray. 



This species is described by La Cepede from the ma- 

 nuscripts of M. Noel, as having been seen by him at 

 Liverpool and Brighton. See Hist. Nat- dcs Poissons, 

 vol. v. p. C63. tab. 20. f. 2. 



12. R. pastinaca. Stinging ray. 



This appears to be common in the English seas, but 

 it is very rare in Scotland. Itis however mentioned bv 

 Sibbald. 



13. R. Cuvieri. Cuvierian ray. 



Mr Neil is the only British naturalist who has seen 

 a specimen 'found on our coasts. It was taken in a 

 traul net in the Frith of Forth, in summer 1808. 



14. R. radiata. Starry ray. 



This species is figured by Donovan in his British 

 Fishes, tab. cxiv. where he says " it was caught on the 

 north coast of Britain, and obligingly communicated to 

 us by Mr Statchbury of the Old Jewry, London." 



15. R. microcellata. Small-eyed ray. 



This species is found on the "w est coast of England, 

 and is confounded by the fishermen with the shagreen 

 ray, and called duncow. It is described by Montagu 

 in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Socie- 

 ty, vol. ii. p. 430. 



GENUS IV. TORPEDO. Cramp Fish. 



16. T. vulgaris. Common cramp fish. Cramp fist 

 This celebrated fish has been taken at various places 



on the southern coasts of England and Ireland. 



GENUS V. SQUALUS. Shark. 



A. With temporal orifices. 



1. With an anal fin. Shark. 



17- S. catulus. Rough hound. 



The rough hound is found sparingly on all parts of 

 the coast. It is now generally admitted by ichthyolo- 

 gists that the S. canicula, or spotted dog-fish, is merely 

 the female. 



1 8. 'S. galeas. Tope. 



Occasionally found in the English seas, rarely off the 

 coast of Scotland. 



19- S. muslelus. Smooth hound. 



Found on all parts of the coast. It is the murloch of 

 the Frith of Forth. 



