NATURAL HISTORY. 

 Family XXIII. Lopliiidoe. (Gr. Ao0of, a crest.) 



Piscatonus (Lat. fishing}, the Angler. 



sea, and by the movement of its pectoral fins stirs up the sand 

 and mud, and agitates the bony appendages amid the turbid 

 cloud produced. The small fishes, observing the muddy water, 

 and taking the filaments for worms, approach to seize them, 

 and are instantly engulphed in the capacious jaws of the crafty 

 Angler. 



The" voracity of the Angler is so great, that when caught in 

 a net together with other fish, it generally devours some of its 

 fellow-prisoners a useless act, for the fishermen mostly open 

 its stomach and recapture the flounders and other fish found in 

 its interior. 



THE CARP. 



The Malacopterygian fishes have their fin membranes sup- 

 ported by flexible rays. The Abdominal Malacopterygii have 

 their ventral fins situated on the belly, without any connexion 

 with the bones of the shoulder. 



The COMMON CARP is a well-known inhabitant of our ponds, 

 lakes, and sluggish rivers. It is a very shy and wary fish 



