488 

 CHAPTER XXVII. 



PISCES FISHES. 



(521.) To whatever portion of the animal world we turn our 

 attention, we find the lowest and least perfectly organized tribes 

 to be inhabitants of the water. To dwell upon the land ne- 

 cessarily demands no inconsiderable share of strength and activity, 

 limbs sufficiently strong to support the weight of the body, mus- 

 cles possessed of great power and energy of action, acute and 

 vigilant organs of sense, and, moreover, intelligence and cunning 

 proportioned to the dangers or necessities connected with a terres- 

 trial existence. 



The inhabitant of the waters, on the contrary, although less 

 highly gifted, may be fully competent to enjoy the position it is 

 destined to occupy. Being constantly buoyed up on all sides by 

 a dense element, it is easily supported at any required altitude 

 without much muscular effort ; but feeble limbs are needed to 

 guide its path through the water, and slight impulses suffice to 

 impel it forward. Thus, therefore, in Fishes we are prepared to 

 expect a priori, that, as far as strength and compactness of struc- 

 ture are concerned, they will be found inferior to other Vertebrata. 



We are likewise justified in anticipating that in intelligence, 

 and in the relative perfection of their senses, fishes should be less 

 highly endowed than the other vertebrate classes. Plunged in 

 the immeasurable depths of the ocean, whereunto no sound can 

 ever penetrate, dwellers in the realms of eternal silence, where 

 even the roar of the storm is lost, vivid and distinct perceptions 

 of sound can be little needed. Surrounded by a turbid element, 

 through which the rays of light with difficulty make their way, the 

 sphere of vision must necessarily be extremely limited. Immersed 

 in a fluid but little adapted to distribute odorous particles, a 

 refined sense of smell would be a useless provision. Taste, if it 

 exists at all, must be blunted to the utmost, 'from the circum- 

 stances under which fishes seize and swallow prey ; and even the 

 sense of touch, in animals encased in scales and deprived of pre- 

 hensile limbs, can only be exercised in a vague and imperfect 

 manner. 



