160 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS.—CLASS IV. PISCES. 
and cylindrical; the head flat, and covered with polygonal plates; the 
dorsal extends nearly the whole length ; the anal is also long, and the caudal 
round it; they have five gill-rays; the stomach is obtuse, with moderately 
long coeca, and the abdominal cavity extends nearly to the base of the 
caudal. They are found in India and China, of various species, and differ- 
ent sizes. In the former country, the jugglers, and even the children, 
amuse themselves by making it crawl along upon dry ground; and, in 
China, the larger ones are cut up alive for sale in the markets. 
“All the genera and species of this family are fresh-water fishes; and 
they have not hitherto been found, except in the south-east of Asia and the 
adjacent islands, and in Southern Africa.” 
Mucitipa. — The Mullets. This tribe composes the Lleventh Family 
of the Order Acanthopterygit. 
There are three genera— Mugil, Tetragonurus, and Atherina. The 
last occupies a place between the Mullets and Gobies. It has two dorsals 
far apart, and yentrals behind the pectorals. It is a small fish, but the flesh 
is delicate. There are numerous species. Tetragonurus comprises but one 
species, which inhabits the Mediterranean. It is of a black color, about a 
foot long 
g, and its flesh is poisonous. 
Mugil, the Mullet, properly so called, must not, however, be confounded 
with the Red Mullets, either plain or striped, which are included in the 
Perch family. Their organization has so many peculiarities that they 
might be formed into a separate family. Their body is nearly cylindrical, 
covered with large scales, two separate dorsals, with only four spinous rays 
in the first, and the ventrals are a little in rear of the pectorals. Their head 
is a little depressed, covered with large, angular, scaly plates; their muzzle 
is short; their form is an angle, in consequence of a prominence at the 
middle of the lower jaw; and their teeth are very small, and, in some, 
almost imperceptible. They have six gill-rays; the bones of the pharynx 
give an angular form to the gullet; their stomach terminates in a fleshy 
gizzard, resembling that of a bird; they have few coecal appendages, but 
the intestinal canal is long and doubled. They are gregarious, resorting to 
the mouths of rivers in large troops, and constantly leaping up out of the 
water. They feed, in part, upon small crabs and other crustacea, which 
they swallow entire. There are several species found in the European seas, 
of which the flesh is much esteeemed. MW. Jabéo is an American fish. It is a 
small species, but has proportionally larger lips than the European Mullets. 
Gobiopa.—The Gobies. Twelfth Family of the Order Acanthop- 
terygtt. 
