ANALOGIES. — CABTILAGINES TO BIRDS. 157 



especially Polyodon and Chimceraf of which nothing 

 that we have yet said relates to the enormous flattened 

 snout of the first, or the lohe-shaped crest of the last. 

 We shall, therefore^ now exhibit the analogies of the 

 cartilaginous types in a new light, by bringing them 

 into contact with the primary orders of birds. 



Families of the 'j Analogies. Orders of Birds. 



CHONDROPTERYGES. -fi/citM/g GO 



SqualidcB. Pre-eminently rapacious. Rapiores. 



RakUs. Typical of their respective circles. Incessores- 



ChinuericUe. [ ^^^endage^'s. "'"'^ °' '^'""'^^ '^" ] ^^^^^^^- 

 Sturionidce. Mouth very small. Grallatores. 



Polyodonidce. Snout or bill .excessively broad. Natatores. 



(138.) The two first set of analogies are so obvious, 



that every naturalist will at once perceive them. It 



follows^ indeed, as a necessary consequence, that if the 



sharks represent the beasts of prey, they also represent 



the rapacious order of birds ; and that if the Raidce are 



typical of birds, they must bear the same relation to 



that group which is the most perfect among birds. 



The rasorial type of form, already so much enlarged 



upon in former volumes, is eminently distinguished 



from all others by the heads of one or both sexes being 



ornamented or defended by unusual appendages, which 



among quadrupeds take the shape of horns, and in 



birds that of crests. The Chimmra horealis exhibits an 



appendage perfectly analogous to this, in the singular 



fleshy caruncle or lobe which surmounts its snout, 



the end of which is beset with numerous short prickles ; 



while the tail, as in all rasorial types of the Vertebrataj 



is highly and singularly developed. Thus we have, 



among fishes, a structure perfectly analogous to the 



rasorial order of birds, and to the ruminating order of 



quadrupeds ; and as the types of the rasorial birds (the 



family of peacocks) are among the most splendid 



coloured of the class, so Chimcera is the only group 



among the cartilaginous fishes whose colours have any 



degree of brilliancy. The difficulties attending the 



