Class IV. COMMON ANGLER. 161 



longer than the upper; the jaws are full of 

 slender sharp teeth ; in the roof of the mouth 

 are two or three rows of the same ; at the root 

 of the tongue, opposite each other, are two 

 bones of an elliptical form, thick set, with very 

 strong sharp teeth ; the nostrils do not appear 

 externally, but in the upper part of the mouth 

 are two large orifices which serve instead of 

 them; on each side of the upper jaw are two 

 sharp spines, and others are scattered about 

 the upper part of the head. Immediately 

 above the nose are two long tough filaments, 

 and on the back three others, united by a web, 

 and forming the first dorsal fin ; these are what 

 Pliny calls cornicula, and says it makes use of 

 to attract the little fish ; the longest and fore- 

 most of these filaments is furnished with a 

 bifurcated thin appendage, which they may 

 easily enough mistake for a bait. They seem to 

 me like lines flung out for that end : I therefore 

 have changed the old name of Fishing Frog 

 for the more simple one of Angler. Along 

 the edges of the head and body are a multitude 

 of short fringed skins, placed at equal distances; 

 the ventral fins are stout, broad, thick, and 

 fleshy, and withinside divided into fingers. 

 The aperture to the gills is placed behind the 



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