ACANTHOPTERYGII. 305 



they swallow entii-e]. There are bcveral species found in tlie European seas, of Avhicli the flesh is 

 much esteemed. 



M. cephalus, the Grey Mullet, has the eyes half covered by two adipose membranes, adhering to the anterior 

 and posterior mar2;ins of the orbit; when the mouth is closed the maxillary is completely hidden under the 

 subortiital ; the base of the pectoral has a long crest -with a keel ; the nostrils are separated by a considerable 

 space, and the teeth are a little prominent. It is the largest and best of the Mediterranean species. [It occm'S 

 aLso on the British shore, thouirh, perhaps, not so frequently as another species, the Thick-lipped Grey Mullet, 

 M. chrlo. The two are, however, sometimes confounded with each other. In addition to these, there is another 

 Grey Mallet, first described by Mr. Yarrell, and which, from its shortness in proportion to the length, he has 

 called M. cuifns. "With the exception of its form, its small size, and some difference in the rays of the pectoral, 

 ana], and caudal fins, it bear:^ considerable resemblance to M. c'.'j>liahi.s.'\ 



M. capita, the Ramando of Nice, has the maxillary visible behind the commissure of the jaws, even when th? 

 mouth is shut ; its teeth are much weaker : its nasal openings nearer to each other ; and the membrane of the eye 

 does not cover any part of the ball. The scale before the pectoral is short and blunt, and there is a black spot at 

 the base of that fm. 



Two much smaller species (M. aureus and M. saltator of Risso) resemble M. capita. The first has the maxillaries 

 under the suborbitals, like Cephalus, but the nostrils are near each other, as in Capito. The second, with tlie cha- 

 racters of Capito, have the suborbital notched, showing the maxillary. 



M. c/ietoy is common in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is easily distinguished by its thick fleshy lips, 

 by their ciliated edges, and by the teeth which penetrate their substance like hairs. The maxillary is curved, and 

 appears behind the commissure. M. labia, a small American species, has proportionally larger lips, with their 

 margins curved. There are also some thick-lipped species in the Indian seas. [There seems little doubt that 

 Chelo is the Grey Mullet, which is so frequently taken in the bays and estuaries on the Channel coast, although 

 not the one generally described as such]. 



Tetrngonurus, is so named from the projecting keels or ridges on each side, near the base of the caudal. It is 

 also one of those insulated genera which indicate particular families, [rather than belong to any of those esta- 

 blished ones]. They in part resemble the Mullets, and in part the Mackerels. Their body is elongated ; their 

 spine is dorsal, long, but very low ; their soft dorsal, which approaches the other, higher and shorter ; their anal 

 is opposite the soft dorsal, and their ventrals a bttle behind the pectorals; the sides of the lower jaw are raised 

 vertically, and furnished with a single row of trenchant teeth like a saw, and inclosed, when the mouth is shut, by 

 the upper teeth ; there is also a small range of teeth upon each parietal bone, and two on the vomer ; the gullet is 

 furnished internally with hard and pointed papillai ; their stomach is fleshy, and doubled; their coeca numerous, 

 and their intestinal canal long. Only one species is known, an inhabitant of the Mediteri'anean, about a foot long, 

 and black : its flesh is believed to be poisonous. 



Atht )'ina, is a genus which does not cnmi>letelv harmonize \\\t\\ any other, and therefore it is arranged between 

 the Mullets and the Gobies. It has a lengthened body, two dorsals far apart, ventrals behind the pectorals, the 

 mouth protractile, and furnished with very small teeth. All the known species have a broad silvery band along 

 each flank. They have six gill-rays ; their stomach is a cul-de-sac, and no coicular api>endagGS. The last trans- 

 verse process of the dorsal vertebra; are bent, forming a sort of conical receptacle for the end of the air-bladder. 

 They are small fishes, much esteemed for the delicacy of their tltsh; and the fry remain a long tinje in shoals 

 along the shores, and are consumed in great numbers. Four species are found in the Mediterranean, and there 

 are a good many foreign ones. \_A. pi-esbr/fer, is found on the south coast of England, and also on the east coast 

 as far as Lincolnshire, and in the Firth of Forth, but not abundantly. On the coasts of Hampshire and Sussex it 

 is plentifid ; and on the Cornish coast it is taken at all seasons. It is a handsome little fish, about six inches long, 

 known as the Sand Smelt, but inferior in flavour to the true Smelt.] 



THE TWELFTH FAMILY OF THE ACANTHOPTERYGH, 



GoBiOD^ (the Goby Family). 



The fishes of this family are known by the thinness and flcxiliility of their dorsal spines. They all 



^^==^ =—-3:.^^.^^ ^: ^ "- ^ — ^^:c^.^^L--:^ - zzz-^ have the same kind of \isccra, — namely, a long, 



" "--u^^^g^^^ ^-^ ^ ^^^^" - = uniform, intestinal canal, without cffica, and 



~ -j|^ -^.^^: y^~~ ^r^ ^^ ^ n^ ~ ^^^^^=^~^~~"~~" "^^ air-bladder. [The family contains several 



-= ~~^^^^^^^^^^^^ia^~^ — ■ ~ genera, sonje of \\Iiich admit of subdivision]. 



' "^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^zi- ^z ~^ —__ Bletinius. The Blennies liave one well-marked 



^=^ ^- ^ i^i^I^^^S^ ^^.. t,- — ^_ character in their ventral fins, inserted before 



^7^- ^— =. X ?L -' ^ the pectorals, and having only two rays each. 



'-^_ . ;^r^^ — -* _^ !^t~ '^^^^ stomach is slender, with no cul-de-sac; the 



z~.^- ^J^_ ^^^~~^ " ^ ^^"^^^ intestine large, without cceca, and there is no 



air-bladder. The form is elongated and com- 

 pressed, and there is but one dorsal, composed 

 almost entirely of jointless but flexible rays 



