FISHES. 535 



much oftener speared by a sort of barbed harpoon, hke the trident of 

 the mythological Neptune, which is thrown javelin fashion at the 

 animal when seen at the bottom of the water ; the flesh is fat and 

 delicate. In the twelfth century one of our kings, Henry I., surfeited 

 himself at Elbeuf by partaking too largely of the Lamprey. The 

 river-lamprey {P . fluviatilis) resembles the above in its general con- 

 formation, but is much smaller, and differs in the armature of the 

 mouth, having only a single circular row of teeth. It is blackish 

 above, silvery beneath, and is common in the markets of London 

 and Paris. A smaller species, about ten inches in length, never 

 leaves the fresh waters. It resembles the last species in colour, but 

 its two dorsal fins are continuous ; it is found in most European 

 rivers and brooks. In some of the English rivers the river Lampreys 

 are frequently taken in the eel-pots to the weight of two and three 

 pounds each. 



III. — Selachia. 



The Selachians include a great number of cartilaginous fishes, 

 varj'ing much in form, including the rays, dog-fish, skate, torpedo, 

 hammer-fish, sharks, and saw-fish; they have pectoral and ventral fins. 

 The branchial arches are fixed, and the branchial sacs open into the 

 pharynx by separate slits, and there are separate external apertures 

 as well. These latter vary from five to seven on each side and in 

 Ckimcera there is but one. The young are often produced alive, 

 while in some the ova are enclosed in remarkably horny egg-cases. 

 Many of the Sharks have two spiracles on the upper part of their 

 head. The order is divided into the Chimserina, the Raidina, and 

 the Squalina. 



Of the Chimcerifia we may mention the remarkable ChimcBra 

 monstrosa. The naturalists Clusius and Aldrovandus compared the 

 fish to which this name is given to the chimsera, a monster of 

 mythological antiquity, which is represented with the body of a goat, 

 the head of a lion, the tail of a dragon, and a gaping throat which 

 vomited flames. The strange form of this fish, the manner in which 

 it moves, the peculiar shape of its snout, its mode of showing its teeth, 

 its ape-like contortions and grimaces, its long tail, which acts with 

 great rapidity, reminding one not a little of a reptile, are well cal- 

 culated to strike the imagination. At a later period medijeval 

 naturalists were contented to see in it a fish with a lion's head, and 

 as the lion was then regarded as the king of animals, so the chimsera 

 became the herring king. 



The king of the herrings (Fig. 357) is from three to four feet in 



