FISHES. 535 
much oftener speared by a sort of barbed harpoon, like 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 L., 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 1s 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. Insome of the English rivers the river Lampreys 
are frequently taken in the eel-pots to the weight of two and three 
pounds each. 
III.—SE.acuia. 
The Selachians include a great number of cartilaginous fishes, 
varying 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 
Chimera 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 Chimerina, the Raidina, and 
the Squalina. 
Of the Chimerina we may mention the remarkable Chimera 
monstrosa. The naturalists Clusius and Aldrovandus compared the 
fish to which this name is given to the chimera, 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 medizval 
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 chimera 
became the erring king. 
The king of the herrings (Fig. 357) is from three to four feet in 
