ACANTHOPTERYGJANS. 135 



Mene, Lacep. 



Have the snout of an Equula, and the entire body more compressed; ab- 

 domen trenchant, and very convex beneath; a circumstance resulting 

 from the development of the bones of the shoulder and pelvis, while the 

 dorsal line is almost straight, which throws the ventrals behind the pec- 

 torals. 



But one species is known, the Mene Anne-Caroline, Lacep. V, 

 xiv, 2, or the Zeus maculatus, Bl., Schn., pi. xxii, Paissel, 60. It 

 is of a fine silver colour, spotted with blackish near the back. From 

 the Indian Ocean. 



Stromateus, Lin. 



Possess the same compressed form as is found in the different species of 

 Zeus, and similar diminutive and slightly apparent scales, under a satiny 

 epidermis; but the snout is obtuse and non-protractile: a single dorsal 

 whose few spines are concealed in its anterior edge ; no ventrals. The 

 vertical fins are sufficiently thick to tempt us to approximate them also to 

 the Squammipennes. Independently of the ordinary lateral line, there is 

 a stria on the flank which has been considered as a second one. The 

 oesophagus is armed with a number of spines which are attached to the 

 velvet by radiating roots. 



S.fiatola, L.; Belon, Aquat. 153; Rondel. 493*. A pretty, 

 oblong species, inhabiting the Mediterranean, remarkable for spots 

 and interrupted bands of a golden tint, on a lead-coloured ground. 



S. stellatus, Cuv., from the coast of Peru, is nearly similar in 

 form, but is sprinkled with black spots; it is common in the markets 

 at Lima. 



Several other species inhabit the Indian Ocean, called by the 

 French colonists Pamples (a). They are generally more elevated 

 than the fiatola, and spines or trenchant blades are frequently found 

 before their dorsal, and even their anal-j\ We may distinguish from 

 among them the 



Peprilus, Cuv. 

 In which the pelvis forms a trenchant and pointed blade before the anus, 



* This fig., in which the left pectoral is bent downwards, being mistaken by La- 

 cep. for a ventral, gave rise to his genus Chrysostromus, which must consequently be 

 suppressed. 



f The Slromatcus niger, Bl. 422, and better, 1G0, under the false nameofiSVr. 

 para, Russ. 43; — the Sir. albus, Cuv., Russ. 44 ; — Str. candidus, Cuv., Russ. 42; — 

 Sir. argenteus, Euphrasen, New Stockh. Mem. IX, pi. ix, or Sir. aculeatus, Bl., Schn.; 

 Sir. grisfiis, Cuv. 



ggT (a) And, by the English in India, Pomfrel. One of the species of the Indk'ii 

 fishes, S. Niger, the Black Pomfret, is caught plentifully in the roads of Pondi- 

 cherry, in the months of March and April. They are taken in great abundance only 

 at intervals, as the fish collect together near the coast, and remain there for two or 

 three days, then disappear for about the same period, when they return, and thus 

 continue for some time the alternate movement. The fish must be eaten within a 

 few hours after being caught. — Eng. Ed. 



