263 



FISHES. 



them up when they die, gorging itself with blubber, like an Esquimaux, scooping hemi- 

 spherical pieces, each as large as a man's head, out of the whale's body, and swallow- 

 ing as much as ever it can, until it has so rilled itself that it has no place wherein to 

 stow away any more ; heeding no annoyance, not even the stab of a knife, at dinner- 

 time, and contenting itself with a fasting diet of small fishes and crabs on those days 

 when whale-beef is not to be procured. MR. AUSTEN. 



The Saw-Fishes (Pristis] (Fig. 285) are especially distinguished by their 

 very long snout, in the form of a sword- blade, armed on each edge with strong 

 bony spines, which are pointed and cutting: this terrible weapon enables its 

 possessor fearlessly to attack the largest whales. The teeth covering the jaws 

 resemble a pavement of small pebbles. The Common Saw-Fish attains a length 

 of twelve or fifteen feet. 



The Skates (Raici) form a large tribe, of which the common Thornback is 

 a familiar example. Fishes of this family are recognizable by their body being 

 horizontally flattened, a conformation principally due to the disposition of their 



THORN-BACK. 



FIG. 290. TORPEDO. 



pectoral fins ; these are extremely broad and fleshy, and joined to each other 

 or to the muzzle in front, and extend backwards on both sides of the abdomen, 

 nearly to the base of the ventral fins. The eyes are placed upon the back of 

 the head. The mouth, the nostrils, and the openings of the branchiae are on 

 the ventral surface of the body ; the dorsal fins are situated upon the tail, 

 which is very slender. Our coast furnishes many species. 



To this family belong 



The Torpedos, or Electric Rays, celebrated for their power of giving 

 electric shocks. Their electric apparatus consists of a multitude of vertical 



