286 CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES. 



The same, however, cannot be said of the resemblances 



between Pristogaster and Trichosoma : the horizontal 

 mouth of the latter is directly opposed to the vertical 

 one of the former; while the ventral fin, which is 

 altogether wanting in Pristogaster, is actually of a 

 larger proportionate size in Trichosoma than in any other 

 type of the whole family with which we are acquainted. 

 The analogy,, therefore, if such it be, bfitween these two 

 types, must, at the best, be looked upon as remote — we 

 may almost add questionable. We could get over this 

 difficulty, it is true, by substituting Odontognathus for 

 Triclwsoma, because that type is an unquestionable re- 

 presentative of Pristogaster ; but this would, as we 

 conceive, be sacrificing affinity to analogy ; or, in other 

 words, would be separating Trichosoma from those 

 fishes to which it has every appearance of being truly 

 alHed, merely for the purpose of perfecting our analogi- 

 cal table. Another consideration has much influence on 

 our mind in this decision, which, as it tends to illustrate 

 a very important character in Trichosoma, we shall now 

 lay before our readers. The character to which we 

 allude, lies in the long filaments near the pectoral, which 

 we cannot but suspect are really analogous to those pro- 

 cesses among the TrigIid<T, or gurnards. Now, it will 

 be subsequently shown that the whole of these genera 

 compose the most aberrant type of the acanthoptery- 

 gious, or spine-rayed, order of fishes — analogous, in fact, 

 to the situation we have here assigned to Trichosoma : 

 to render this more apparent to the reader, we shall 

 here place the two groups in juxtaposition, for the sole 

 purpose of showing that, when so placed, these two 

 points turn cut to be parallel with each other. 



Macro' eptes. Elops. 



Microleptes. 31egalops. 



Gvmnetes. Xotopterus. 



Canthileptes. (Triglidffi^ &c.) Trichosoma. 



Blennides. Engraulis. 



As any attempt to explain the whole of these pre- 

 sumed analogies would lead us from our more immediat'^ 



