ACANTIIOPTERYGII. 303 



A third tril)e lias tlie nuizzle snort, and the nioutli citTt obllrjiicly. It contains tliree •■cnera. 

 Scpola, have a long; dorsal and anal, the top of the cranium llattuned, tlie y-ape incUniufi- upwards, all the spines 

 of the dorsal flexible, but those of tlie vcntrais stiff, cavity and stomach very short, and the air-bladder extending 

 as far as the tail. One species, of a reddish colour, inhabits the Mediterranean; [and is occasionally found on the 

 south coast of England, >\here it is known as the Red-band Fish, or Red Snake-fish. They appear to have Httle 

 command of themselves in a stormy sea]. Lophotes, head short, with an osseous crest surmounted by a spine, 

 bordered behind this with a low fin, extending from this spine to the tail, which has a very small caudal ; the anal 

 very short, pectorals moderate, and scarcely any ventrals ; teeth pointed, eyes very large, and abdominal cavity 

 occupying nearly the whole length of the body. One species is known iii the Mediterninean, where it attains a 

 targe size. 



THE NINTH FAMILY OF THE AGANTHOPTKRYGII. 



Theutyes (the Lancet-fish Family). 

 These agree with the Mackerel family in some respects, but ditfer in others, such as trenchant spines 

 on the sides of tlie tail, and an horizontal spine befoi'e the durjal. The family contains few genera, all 

 foreigners, with compressed oblong body, small mouth, slightly or not at all protractile, and only a 

 single row of trenchaut teeth in the jaws. They feed chielly on fuci and other marine phmts, and have 

 large intestines. [Their powerful spiues, which they use very dexterously, are weapons of defence 

 supplied to them for nearly the same purposes as the horns of the ruminant Mammalia.] 



SiganuSf have a unique character in their ventrals, which have two spinous rays, one external and the other 

 internal, and three branch rays between them. They have live giU-rays, a horizontal spine before the dorsal, and 

 the styloid bones of the shoulder so curved as to imite at their cxtri'mities -vuth the lirst interspiral bone of the 

 anal. There are numerous species in the Indian Ocean. 



Acaniliiirus, Lancet-fishes, have the teeth trenchant and notched, and a strong spine at each side of the tail, as 

 sharp as a lancet, with which they inflict severe wounds on such as attempt to handle them unwarily; hence their 

 eommon name. They are found in the warm parts of both oceans: some with the dorsal very elevated, othere 

 with a tuft of bristles before the lateral spine, and others again with the teeth divided like a comb. 



Pr'tonurus, dilfer from the last only in having a number of horizontal cutting- blades on the side of the tail, in 

 place of the strong spine. [These might be termed Scarifiers.] 



Naseiis, have trencliant blades in the tail like the last, but with conical teeth, and a prominent horn projecting 

 over the muzzle ; only four rays in the gills, and three in the ventrals. Tliulr skin is leathery. 



Axlnnriis, more elongated tlian the linst, and without the prominence in front, but with the same number of rays 

 in the gills and ventrals ; on each side of the tail, they have a single square cuttmg-blade, without a basal shield; 

 their mouths are small, and their teeth slender. 



Priodon, have the notched teeth of Acanthurus, the three soft venti'al rays of Naseus, and the sides of the tail 

 armed hke Syganus. 



THE TENTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGII. 

 Fishes w^itii Labyrinths in the Pharynx. 



By the term Pharyinjina' lahyrinlhiformai, is meant that the upper membranes of the pharvnx 

 aie divided into small irregular leaves, more or less numerous in the ditierent genera, containing cells 

 between them, which tlie fish can at pleasure till with water; and by ejecting a portion of this water, 

 moisten its gills, and thus continue its circulation wdiile out of its proper clement. [From this con- 

 trivance of Nature herself, wc ai'e to understand that, if the gills of a fish can be kept properly 

 moistened, by salt water or by fresh, according as the fish is naturally an inhabitant of one or the 

 other, it may be carried alive over land to an indefinite distance]. By means of this apparatus, 

 these fishes are enabled to quit the pool or rivulet which constitutes their usual elciuent, and move to 

 a eonsideral.ile distance over land. This singular faculty was unknown to the ancients ; and the people 

 in India still believe that these lishes fall from heaven. 



[In cold and temperate climates, this apparatus is not necessary, because all the jionds and streams 

 there, wdiicb are capable of supporting fish, are perennial, and never dried np, except in seasons of 

 extreme drought, when, of course, all the fishes perish ; but in tropical countries, and in India perhaps 

 above all other tropical countries, where the seasons are alternate drought and rain, there is neither 

 food nor water for a fish during the one season, and plenty of both during the other. Hence, these 

 lishes are furnished with this peculiar apparatus in the pharynx, by means of which they are enabled 

 to ffdlow the water over dry obstacles, and, in some of the 'species, to climb steep banks, or even trees, 

 ia the course of their instinctive journeys]. The following are the genera: — 



