ACANTIIOPTERYGII. 311 



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

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

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

 ternally.] They most nearly resemble Labrus, and are not easily distin<i;uished*from it, except by the profile of 

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

 estceint'd. 



C.'iromis, These have the lips, protractile maxillaries, pharyn^^eals, and ireneral aspect of Labrus ; hat their 

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

 ventrals are produced into long threads ; their lateral line is interrupted; and their stomach forms a cuhde-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. nlloticus, tbe Egyptian Coryclna of the ancients, which attains the leng'th of two feet, 

 and is reckoned the best fish in E-^ypt. 



Ci/chla, have the teeth small and crowded, formed into a larg;e band, and the body elont,^ated, which are their 

 chief dirt'ercnces from tlie precedin;^ suli^enus. 



Plt'siops, have the head compressed, the eyes near each other, and extrL'Uieiy long ventrals; but in other respects 

 they resemble Cliromis. 



Malai: ail thus. These have the g-eneral character of Labrus, and the same teeth in the maxillariea, but their teeth 

 in the pharynx are arranged like those of a card. Tlieir 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 tlicir inter- 

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

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

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

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

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

 of Laljrus, with large scales, and an interrupted lateral line. The}' have twn plates in the u]i})er part 

 of their pharynx, and one in the under, furnislicd with teeth as in Labrus ; but their teeth arc in trans- 

 verse lammas, 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 8. crciicus 

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

 ancients, which, during the reign of Claudius, lilipertius Optatas the Roman admiral sailed to Greece in order 

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

 soning. TlK-re 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 sing-ularly enlarged and rounded, while in others it is truncated to a square. These 

 constitute the genus Scarus, properly so called, from which t\io subgenera may be separated ; — CalitudoHy 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 Odajc, which resemble the true Labi-us in their thickened lips and uninten'upted 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 ACANTHOPTERYGIL 

 FiSTULARicE (Pipe-mouthed Fishes). 



Tbe 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, ptetTgoids, 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 : — Fishdaria, with the bodies cyUndrical; 

 and Centriscif^, in which it is oval and compressed. 



Flsiularia. 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 coeca at the commencement. There are two subgenera. 



