8 . ACANTHOPTERTGII. 



Genus II. — Labrax, Cuvier. 



Dicentrarchus, Gill : Boccus and Morone, Mitchell. 



Branchiostegals seven : pseudobranchiae present. Body oblong or rather elongated. 

 Breopercle serrated : opercle spinate. Teeth villiform in both jaws, on the vomer, 

 palatine bones and the tongue. Two dorsal fins separated at their bases the first with 

 9 spines : the anal generally with 3 {occasionally with 1 or 2) spines. Scales ctenoid : 

 of a small or moderate size. Byloric appendages feiv. 



Geographical distribution. — This marine and river genus of perches is found 

 on the shores of the Arctic regions extending in Europe to the Mediterranean 

 and Egypt : while it also exists along the coasts and rivers of North America. 

 Professor Peters has likewise described one species, Labrax Schoenleinii, from the 

 Celebes, proving that it may be present in the vicinity of the tropics. 



The two European forms are distinguished by the teething on the vomer : 

 which in the Labrax lupus form a simple, almost crescentic, band : while the 

 spotted species, L. punctatus, has them in a triangular spot anteriorly, extending 

 backwards in a straight line like the shaft of an arrow. 



Gill and others have subdivided this genus more especially in accordance with 

 the lingual dentition, the character of the serrations along the lower margin of 

 the preopercle and the spines on the opercle. The number of anal spines has been 

 observed to be inconstant. 



1. Labrax lupus, Plate II. 



Aa/3pa£, Aristot. iv, c. 8, v, c. 9, 10, 



Lupus, Plin. ix, cap. 17, 54, xxxii, cap. 2; Belonius, de Aquatilibus, 1553, i, 

 p. 113 ; Rondel. Pise. Mar. ix, c. 7, p. 268, c. fig ; Salv. Aqu. 1554, xxviii, p. 108, 

 f . 30 ; Gesner, iv, p. 506 ; Aldrov. Pise, iv, cap. 2, p. 490, c. fig ; Jonston, 1649, 

 lib. ii, cap. 2, p. 103, t. xxiii, f. 3 ; Willughby, iv, cap. 1, p. 271, t. R. 1 ; Ray, 

 Pise. p. 83 and 132 ; Rutty, N. H. Co. Dublin, i, p. 367. Berca, Artedi, Gen. 

 Pise. No. 7, p. 41 ; Borlase, Natural History of Cornwall, 1755, p. 270, pi. xxvi, f. 19 ; 

 Basse, Pennant, Brit. Zool. (Ed. 1) iii, p. 257, pi. xlix (Ed. 2) iii, p. 348, pi. Ix. 



Berca labrax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 482 ; Gronov. Zooph. No. 300, p. 91 ; Bloch 

 Schn. p. 84 ; Bonnaterre, Ency. p. 127 ; Donovan, Brit. Fish, ii, pi. xliii ; Turton, 

 Brit. Fauna, p. 100 ; Risso, Ich. Nice, p. 299 and Hist. Nat. iii, p. 406 ; Plemming, 

 Brit. An. p. 213 ; Schagerstrom, R. Vet. Acad. Hand. 1829, St, i, p. 90, t. 3, f. 5-7 ; 

 Nilss. Scand. p. 82 ;. Johnston, Fishes of Berwickshire, Mag. Nat. History, 1833, 

 Vol. vi, p. 15 ; Martens, Reise nach Venedig, ii, p. 428 ; Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 331 ; 

 Gronov. ed. Gray, p. 115. 



Scicena labrax and S. diacantha, Bloch. iii, t. 301, 302 ; Shaw, Zool.. iv, 

 pp. 534, 535. 



Gentropomus lupus, Lacepede, iv, p. 267. 



Berca diacantha, Lacepede, iv, p. 418; Bl. Schn. p. 85. 



Berca elongata and B. sinuosa, Geoff. Desc. Egypte, Poiss. pi. xix, f. 1 and 

 xx, f. 3. 



Labrax lupus, Cuv. Regne Anim. pi. vii, f . 1 ; Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 56, pi. xi ; 

 Yarrell, Brit. Fish. (Ed. 1) i, p. 6, c. fig. (Ed. 2) i, p. 8 (Ed. 3) ii, p. 118 ; 

 Bonaparte, Faun. Ital. p. 79, c. fig ; Val. in Webb and Berthelot's Jchthyologie 

 des lies Canaries, 1836, p. 5 ; Parnell, Fishes of the Frith of Forth, 1838, p. 170 ; 

 Guichenot, Poissons dans l'Exploration Scientifique de lAlgeria, 1850, p. 31 ; 

 White, Catal. Brit. Fish. p. 10 ; Gunther, Catal. i, p. 64 (part) and Annals and 

 Magazine Nat. Hist. (3) 1863, xii, p. 175 ; Thompson, Nat. Hist. Ireland, iv, 

 p. 69 ; Steindachner, Ich. Spain and Port. Akad. Wien, 1867, p. 4 ; Collett, 

 Norges Fiske, p. 15. 



Bass, Couch, Fish. Brit. Isles, i, p. 189, pi. xl. 



B. vii, D. 8-9 | ya-Vir, P- 16, V. 1/5, A. T ^ TT , C. 17, L. 1. 72, L. tr. 10/20, 

 Ccec. pyl. 5, Vert. 12/13. 



Length of bead 3-f to 4, of caudal fin 5-f , height of body 4| to 4| in the total 

 length. Eye — diameter 4|- to 5 (or even proportionately larger in very small 



