FIbHiiS. 535 



Prickly-finned Abdominal Fish. 



24-. The Silurus or Sheath-fixh. The body oblong ; the head 

 large ; the fin covering the gills from four to fourteen spines ; 

 the leading bones or spines in the back and pectoral fins toothed. 



25. The Mugul or Mullet. The body oblong ; the head almost 

 conical; the upper-jaw with a furrow, which receives the pro- 

 minence of the under ; the fin covering the gills with seven 

 rays. 



26. The Polynemus. The body oblong; the head with a 

 beak ; the fin covering the gills with from five to seven spines ; 

 the bones that move the pectoral fins not articulated to those 

 fins. 



27. The Teuthys. The body almost elliptical ; the head 

 abruptly shortened ; the fin covering the gills with five rays ; the 

 teeth in a single row, close, strong, and even. 



28. The Elops or Sea-Serpent. The body slender ; the head 

 large ; the fin covering the gills double, with thirty spines, and 

 armed externally with five bones resembling teeth. 



jects beyond the lower. The gills and the bony plate on the belly are brown 

 upon the upper part, silvery and streaked upon the lower. It has two pec- 

 toral fins, one dorsal rising in a triangular form from the middle of the back ; 

 between this and the head are fifteen distinct spines inclined towards the 

 tail, which, when depressed, are insensible to the touch. The fins of the 

 belly consist of two spines, the foremost of which is the longest. In the fin 

 at the anus there is also a covered spine, but the other fins are soft and 

 ramified. Tin; fifteen-spined sticklebacks, like the last mentioned species, 

 are found in the Baltic sea and the Ocrman ocean ; they are very common in 

 Holland, and also near Lubeck in the dutchy of Holstein. M. Bloch says, 

 that their ordinary size does not exceed seven inches, and that he has found 

 small crabs in their stomach. The great stickleback does not ascend the 

 rivers like the other kinds, never leaving the soa, where it is taken among 

 other fish. Large quantities are sometimes taken by kindling a fire on the 

 shore, which draws them in shoals to the nets. A kind of lamp oil is ex- 

 tracted from them, and what remains is used as manure. Tdpy are, how. 

 ever, frequently oaten by the poor. 



