ESOCIN^. LEPTODES. 303 



yet in existence, or if any records regarding it exist at 

 that place : for ourselves, we confess our entire disbelief 

 that such a pike, and of such an age, ever existed. The 

 largest, we believe, that has ever been captured in this 

 country, was the famous one caught by colonel Thornton 

 in one of the Scotch lakes, which measured exactly four 

 feet four inches from eye to fork : the colonel says, that 

 on opening his jaws, " so dreadful a forest of teeth, or 

 tusks, I think I never beheld." The shape of the pike 

 is much more like that of an ordinary fish than of the 

 Ramphistomce : the snout and jaws, indeed, are rather 

 lengthened, but they are blunt, depressed, and large ; 

 upon opening the mouth, which is very wide, it appears 

 to be absolutely lined with teeth of all sizes, covering 

 the jaws, palate, and vomer, or throat : the size and de- 

 pression of the head must be particularly noticed, since 

 it far exceeds that of any other fish in this order, and 

 will be subsequently adverted to. It is fortunate for 

 other fishes, that there are very few species of pikes ; and 

 the wonder really is, how any others can live in the 

 same waters with such a depopulating monster. It has 

 been ascertained that eight pikes, of about five pounds' 

 weight each, consumed near 800 gudgeons in three 

 weeks. 



(253.) The genus Leptodes* is the next form among 

 the pikes to which we assign a primary rank. Very little 

 has been published of this extraordinary fish, and it 

 would appear that even Cuvier himself had never seen it ; 

 while the only figure existing is the rude and ill-drawn 

 one of Catesby, which has been copied repeatedly into 

 other works. Among the numerous fishes we collected in 

 the Mediterranean was one of these; but it has shared the 

 fate of nearly all the others, and seems to be no longer 

 in existence. Fortunately, however, a coloured drawing 

 was made from the fresh specimen, which is reduced 



* The name of Chauliodus, given to this type by Schneider, is particularly 

 expressive, but unfortunately it had long been used to designate an equally 

 I remarkable genus of neuropterous insects by Latreille ; so that we have no 

 I other alternative than to propose another — Leptodes 



