CHIEF FORMS AMONG THE SALMON. 241 



liave a very small mouth, and thick lips; but some have 

 strong teeth ; and all have a small adipose fin. These 

 appear to form one of the primary divisions of the Sal-' 

 monid(^, and to be further distinguished by their geogra- 

 phic distribution, which is confined to the New World; 

 while the genuine salmon, and its sub-genera, are more 

 particularly appropriated to Europe, and the more tem- 

 perate latitudes of Asia and America. Among these 

 first we may glance at Serrasalmo, remarkable for a 

 thick, oval, and high body, and very large triangular cut- 

 ting teeth ; the belly is compressed, and serrated like the 

 edge of a saw, from whence their name. These fish, 

 like Erythrinus, may be called the sharks of their own 

 family ; and they are stated to be so fierce, that they 

 will destroy water-fowl, and even attack the Indians 

 when bathing in the rivers, although, from their com- 

 paratively small size, they can only inflict wounds in 

 the flesh. The other sub-genera belonging to this group 

 are Myletes (Cuv)., Tetragonopterus (Artedi), which 

 have the belly serrated ; and Characinus (Artedi*), LC" 

 porinus, Anodus, and some other aberrant forms or 

 species, which have small mouths and more delicate 

 teeth : one or two, indeed, have no teeth whatever in 

 their jaws ; while, in the very small size of the mouth, 

 and the thick lips, they have all the aspect of carps, but 

 with a small adipose fin. In the European division, 

 we have the common salmon, the trout, and the char : 

 in these, the body is more lengthened, the mouth mo- 

 derately wide, the lips thin and bony, and the teeth 

 small, edging the margin of the jaws : many sub-genera 

 have been proposed, among which is Osmerus of Artedi, 

 which includes the small salmons called smelts. Core' 

 gonus, of the same excellent ichthyologist, seems to 

 represent, in Europe, the salmons of Tropical America; 

 for their mouth is very small, and the teeth are fre» 

 quently wanting : they are chiefly found in the conti- 

 nental lakes. The Argentina of Linnaeus is a small 



* Subsequently called Curbnata by Cuvier. 

 VOL. I. R 



