66 CLASSIFICATIOxV OF FISEES. 



neral considerations^ drawn from other classes of the 

 animal kingdom ; and although each makes^ in some of 

 the details, a greater or lesser approach to nature, each 

 may be also said to have its weak points. Neither have 

 we space to particularise, in detail, the valuable additions 

 made to the comparative anatomy, or rather the internal 

 structure, of fish, by many able and skilful men, who now 

 began to take up this department of the science ; most 

 of these essays are in the voluminous and expensive 

 Transactions of societies, and are therefore not very acces- 

 sible to the student. This latter obstacle, unfortunately, 

 is also an impediment to the possession of the numerous 

 and beautiful figures of fish dispersed in the Zoological 

 Atlases of the French circumnavigators, and described 

 by the naturalists who accompanied the different expe- 

 ditions : many interesting fish are also figured among 

 the plates taken from the late general Hardwicke's 

 Indian drawings, edited by Mr. J. E.Gray; and the 

 volume on those discovered by Dr. Richardson forms a 

 valuable addition to our knowledge of the Arctic species. 

 (62.) There are two important works, however, which 

 deserve a more particular notice : one of these includes 

 the numerous and beautiful species discovered by that 

 enterprising traveller and accomplished zoologist. Dr. 

 Riippell, on the shores of the Red Sea.* Although, 

 from being drawn on stone, the execution of some of the 

 figures appears to be coarse, yet they are the most masterly 

 and artistical (next to those of Le Sueur) that we have 

 ever seen : they wear every appearance of having been 

 drawn and coloured from the fresh subjects with evident 

 care and exactitude ; so that they deserve to be ranked 

 among the most valuable that have ever been published : 

 the descriptions are in German, but the specific cha- 

 racters are also in Latin. "We anxiously look forward 

 to this unrivalled collection of coloured figures being 

 augmented, and in the same style, by those new species 

 discovered during the second expedition of this zealous 



* Atlas zu der Reiseim Xordlichen Afrika, von Eduard Ruppell — Fische 

 des Rothen Meers. Frankfurt am Maine, 1828, foliOj with 35 plates. 



