126 



CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES. 



reference to the natural affinities of this extraordinary 

 fish, the head deserves particular attention : it is very 

 large., thick, and rises in the shape of a conical py- 

 ramid : at a little distance from the tip of the snout, 

 in the male fish only, is a short upright pro- 

 cess, terminating in a fringe ; the whole resembling 

 a tuft or crest : the mouth is placed rather beneath, 

 and is small for the size of the fish; it has no true 

 teeth, but the jaws are furnished with broad bony 

 laminae ; and these are notched in the margin, so as to 

 resemble numerous small teeth ; "while in front, both 

 above and below, stand two large, subtriangular, flattish 

 cutting teeth. We see, in short, the first indication of 

 the plectognathiform structure, and of all those other 

 groups where the teeth are represented by crenated or 

 serrated bony jaws, analogous to the chelonian reptiles. 

 The northern Chimcera lives in the deep recesses of the 

 ocean, and is therefore seldom seen to approach the 

 shores, except during breeding time. It is described as 

 a nocturnal fish, chiefly searching for its prey at that 

 season; when it devours the young of the cod, herring, 

 and other similar tribes. Its flesh is particularly coarse 

 and uneatable ; but the Norwegians are said to esteem 

 its eggs, which are mixed up with their pastry, Aluch 

 oil is contained in the liver. The C. Australia {fig. Q. b) 

 inhabits the Southern Ocean. Having now enumerated 

 the most aberrant forms in this order, we shall proceed 

 at once to those which are more typical. 



(112.) The Squalid^, or sharks, are the most con- 

 spicuous and the most perfectly organised of all the 

 cartilaginous fishes. Their forms are often gigantic, 

 and their fierceness and voracity are proverbial : they 

 are the dread and detestation of mariners ; and even 

 when dead, their aspect is sufficient to excite fear. These 

 monsters of the deep are nearly all completely carni- 

 vorous : and their appetite is so voracious, that they in- 

 discriminately devour whatever living being comes in 

 their way It is a well-authenticated fact, that some 

 of these monsters, at a single bite, have cut a man in 



