ACANTHOPTERYGII. 311 



teeth, largest in the centre ; the pharynx is paved with hemispherical teeth ; the intestinal canal has two flexures, 

 but nocoeca; the stomach has no cul-de-sac, and they have a tolerably long- air-bladder. [Until Cuvier arranged them 

 differently, they were always classed with the Coryphenes, from which they differ much, both externally and in- 

 ternally.] They most nearly resemble Labrus, and are not easily distinguished from it, except by the profile of 

 the head. Are found in the Mediterranean, and also in the southern seas ; and the flesh of some is much 

 esteemed. 



Chromis. These have the lips, protractile maxillaries, pharyngeals, and general aspect of Labrus ; but their 

 teeth resemble those of a card, except a range of conical ones in front. Their dorsal fins have long filaments ; their 

 ventrals are produced into long threads ; their lateral line is interrupted ; and their stomach forms a cul-de-sac, 

 but has no cceca. A small one, of a chestnut-brown colour, is taken in vast numbers in the Mediterranean; and 

 there is one in the Nile, C. 7iiloiicus, tbe Egy^ptian Corycina of the ancients, which attains the length of two feet, 

 and is reckoned the best fish in Egypt. 



Cyckla, have the teeth small and crowded, formed into a large band, and the body elongated, which are their 

 chief diflerences from the preceding subgenus. 



Plesiops, have the head compressed, the eyes near each other, and extremely long ventrals ; but in other respects 

 they resemble Chromis. 



Matacanthus. These have the general character of Labrus, and the same teeth in the maxillaries, but their teeth 

 in the pharynx are arranged like those of a card. Their bodies are elongated, their lateral line continuous, their 

 operculum terminated by a small spine, and their long dorsal has only a few flexible spinous rays in the fleshy part. 

 A species is found in the West Indies, of a yellowish colour, irregularly streaked across with violet, which, like many 

 others belonging to this family, has been improperly ranged with the Coryphenes. 



Scarus.— The fishes of this genus are remarkable for their jaws — that is to say, for their inter- 

 maxillaries and premandibles, — which are convex, rounded, and furnished with scale-Hke teeth on their 

 margin and anterior surface. These teeth succeed each other from the rear to the front in such a 

 manner that the bases of the newest form a trenchant range. It has been erroneouslj" supposed 

 by naturalists that the bone in this state is naked. In the living state, the jaws are covered with fleshy 

 lips, but there is no double lip adhering to the suborbital bones. These fishes have the oblong form 

 of Labrus, with large scales, and an interrupted lateral line. They have two plates in the upper part 

 of their pharv'nx, and one in the under, furnished with teeth as in Labrus ; but their teeth are in trans- 

 verse lammae, and not rounded and arranged like the stones of a pavement. 



The Archipelago contains one species, of a blue or red colour, according to the season, which is the 5. creticus 

 of Aldrovandus ; and which, after new investigations, I believe is the true Scarus so celebrated among the 

 ancients, which, during the reign of Claudius, Elipertius Optatus the Roman admiral sailed to Greece in order 

 to obtain and distribute through the Italian seas. It is still eaten in Greece, and its intestines are used for sea- 

 soning. There are numerous species in the tropical seas, which, on account of the form of their jaws and the 

 brilliancy of their colours, are called Parrot-fishes. Some have the caudal fin in the shape of a crescent; and of 

 these a few have the front singularly enlarged and rounded, while in others it is truncated to a square. These 

 constitute the genus Scarus, properly so called, from which two subgenera may be separated : — Calliodon, which 

 have the lateral teeth of the upper jaw separate and pointed, and on the same jaw an anterior range, much smaller 

 in size; and Orfax, which resemble the true Labrus in their thickened lips and uninterrupted lateral line, but their 

 jaws are constructed as in Scarus, except that the bones are flat, not rounded, and are covered by the lips. Their 

 teeth, however, resemble pavement, like those of Labrus. 



THE FIFTEENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



FisTULARiD^ (Pipe-mouthed Fishes). 



The fishes of this family are characterized by a long tube projected forwards from the cranium, and 

 composed of elongations of the ethmoid, vomer, pre-operculum, inter-operculum, pter^•goids, and tym- 

 panals, at the extremity of which they have the mouth, composed, as usual, of intermaxillaries, maxil- 

 laries, palatals, and mandibles. Their intestine has no great inequalities, nor many flexures ; and their 

 ribs are short, or wanting. The family consists of two genera : — Fistularia, with the bodies cylindrical; 

 and Centriscus, in which it is oval and compressed. 



Fistularia. Fishes of this genus receive their particular name from the long tube common to all 

 the family. Their jaws are at its extremity, but little cleft, and opening nearly in a horizontal . irec- 

 tion. Their head, thus elongated, is equal to a third or a fourth of the length of the body, which is 

 itself long and slender. There are six or seven rays in their gills; and some osseous appendages 

 extending behind the head, by means of which the anterior part of the body is more or less 

 strengthened. The dorsal is directly above the anal ; and the stomach is a fleshy tube extending in a 

 straight canal, but with two cceca at the commencement. There are two subgenera. 



