GYM 



GYM 



bowls, but scarcely a quarter of an inch 

 thick, also well polished." 



GYMNOTHORAX, the murxna, in na- 

 tural history, a genus of fishes of the or- 

 der Apodes. Generic character: body 

 eel-shaped, no pectoral fins; spiracle sin- 

 gle, on each side the neck, small, oval, 

 and uncovered. There are four species, 

 according to Gmelin, but Shaw enume- 

 rates eleven. The G. romaria abounds on 

 the Mediterranean coasts, and attains 

 nearly to the size of the common eel. It 

 is principally found in salt water, but 

 will live equally well in fresh. It is high- 

 ly voracious, and preys upon a vast vari- 

 ety of smaller animals. It was regarded 

 by the Romans as one of the first of deli- 

 cacies, and the rich and noble frequently 

 kept these fishes in large reservoirs, in 

 which they were at once fed for the ta- 

 ble, and afforded entertainment by the 

 lameness and familiarity to which they 

 were easily disciplined. V. Pollio once 

 ordered a slave, who had offended him 

 by neglect, in the presence of the Empe- 

 ror, to be cut in pieces and given for 

 food to his rnura:nas, at which the Empe- 

 ror Augustus was so much disgusted, that 

 lie instantly ordered the ponds of ihis no- 

 bleman to be filled up, and his slave 10 

 be liberated, and was induced to spare 

 the life of this tyrant, only from a re- 

 gard to an acquaintance of considerable 

 duration. 



GYMNOTUS, the gymnote, in natural 

 history, a genus of fishes or' the order 

 Apodes. Generic character : the head 

 with lateral opercula ; two teniacula on 

 the upper lip ; eyes covered by the com- 

 jnon skin ; gill-membrane five-rayed ; "-o- 

 dy compressed, generally without a dor- 

 sal fin, but carinated by a fin beneath. 

 There are nine species, of which we shall 

 notice G. electricus, or the electrical 

 gymnote. This is generally of the length 

 of three or four feet, is of an unpleasant 

 appearance, much like a large eel, but 

 thicker in proportion to the length, and 

 always of the colour of a blackish brown. 



It has, occasionally, been seen of the 

 length often feet. It is found in the hot 

 climates of Africa and America, particu- 

 larly in the rivers of Surinam and Sene- 

 gal. Towards the close of the 17th cen- 

 tury, a memoir was presented by M. Hi- 

 cher to the French Academy, announcing 

 his discovery of a very pecular quality of 

 this fish, by which it communicated to, 

 the person touching it a very sudden and 

 violent shock. This statement, however, 

 was considered as fabulous for a consi- 

 derable time, and it was not till about 

 the middle of the last century that all 



scepticism on this subject, even among 

 learned and scientific men, completely 

 vanished, and this very peculiar proper- 

 ty was universally allowed to attach to the 

 fish in question. Dr. Garden, of Charles- 

 town, in South Carolina, after giving an 

 elaborate description of the form and 

 structure of this animal, adds, that it has 

 the power of giving an electrical shock 

 to any person, or 10 any number of per- 

 sons who join hands together, the ex- 

 treme person on each side touching the 

 fish. There were five of these fishes un- 

 der his immediate inspection at the above 

 town, all which possessed this property 

 in a high degree, and they could com- 

 municate the shock to any number of in- 

 dividuals, either by the immediate touch 

 of the fish by one of them, or through 

 the medium of a metalline rod; but when 

 they were first caught, this power was 

 more fully possessed by them than some 

 time afterwards. He observed that, in his 

 own case, tht- shock was never experi- 

 enced, when the fish was laid hold of by 

 him with one hand only ; when it was held 

 by both hands, at a considerable distance 

 apart, he never failed to receive a sensi- 

 ble and smsrt one. Indeed, if it be held 

 by one hand, and the other hand be im- 

 mersed in the water immediately over 

 the body of the fish, the same effect will 

 follow as if the fish were held by both 

 hands, and so it will be with respect to 

 any number of persons joining in a circle, 

 one hand of the person at one extremity 

 holding the fish, and the person at the 

 other extremity placing his hand in the 

 water over the gymnote. This shock is 

 considered as completely electrical, all 

 the circumstances of it resembling those 

 of the electricity of the atmosphere. It 

 is passed by the same conductors, and in- 

 terrupted by the same electrics. These 

 fishes are caught in Surinam river, consi- 

 derably above the reach of the sea-water. 

 They subsist on fishes, worms, or any ani- 

 mal food, which is small enough for them 

 to swallow; and when any fish is thrown 

 at them, they will immediately communi- 

 cate to it a shock, by which it is stupifi- 

 ed. If the fish be large, several shocks 

 are requisite, and are applied for this pur- 

 pose, and many are thus destroyed by the 

 gymnote which it is unable to swallow, 

 and after repeated attempts finds itself 

 obliged to abandon. The shock 1 inflicted 

 by these creatures on others, intended by 

 them for prey, is by no means always, nor 

 perhaps generally, fatal, and many have 

 been speedily recovered, after being re- 

 moved into another vessel from that in 

 which they received the shock, and in 



