PERCOIDEjE. 15 



please the palates of those who have been accustomed to feast upon the White-fish 

 (Coregonus albus), Mathemeg (Pimehdus borealk), or Sturgeon, it is very often 

 abandoned to the dogs, with whom, for the same reason, it is no favourite. Even 

 an Epicurean ichthyophagist would relish it when fried ; but from the scarcity of 

 lard, butter, or suet, this is not an usual mode of cooking in the fur-countries. 



DESCRIPTION 

 Of recent specimens taken in Pine-Island Lake, lat. 54°, May, 1820. 



Colour. — Bach and sides greenish-grey alternating in small spots with king's yellow : 

 belly whitish. First dorsal beautifully streaked and clouded with different shades of yellow- 

 ish-brown, and marked on the three posterior rays by a dark patch of venous-blood red. The 

 second dorsal, the pectoral, and caudal fins are coloured and dotted like the back, the lower 

 tip of the caudal being, however, whitish. The ventrals and anal are white, the latter also 

 tinged with red, and both marbled with king's yellow. The top of the head is coloured like 

 the back, and the cheeks present some shades of light cherry-red. The irides are lilac-purple, 

 streaked with pearl-white, and the inside of the mouth is bluish-white, with a coating of 

 nacre shining through in patches. The scales are rough on their exterior edges. 



Form. — Body compressed and oblong ; the back sinks slightly at the end of the first dorsal, 

 and the lateral line, which is parallel to it, has a corresponding depression. Anus situated 

 rather before the commencement of the posterior third of the fish, exclusive of the caudal. 

 Head. — When the jaws are closed, the profile of the head is a cone, whose apex, including the 

 tips of both mandibles, is rather obtuse. The anterior nasal openings have small opercular 

 margins, shaped like the ear of a mouse, and placed so as to catch the stream of water when 

 the fish moves forwards. The eyes are large and prominent. The mouth is rather large, its 

 gape extending. backwards with a curve downwards as far as the centre of the orbit. The 

 jaws are equal in length, the somewhat pointed extremity of the lower one fitting into a 

 depression formed in the more obtuse upper one. 



Teeth. — The two largest teeth of the upper-jaw project one on each side of the snout, like 

 the canine teeth of some quadrupeds, and are visible when the mouth is shut : they stand on 

 the intermaxillaries , which are further armed with small teeth in a single crowded row. The 

 lower- jaw presents, on each limb, a series of teeth like the upper canines, set rather widely, 

 and the intervals are occupied by minute ones. The edges of the palate-bones, and the 

 transverse ridge of the vomer, are armed like the lower-jaw. All the long conical teeth are 

 very acute and have their points inclined backwards. The tongue is smooth, has a triangular 

 form, and its tip is free, or projects considerably into the mouth. The three inner branchial 

 arches are set with a double row of tubercles covered with small teeth ; the outer arch has one 

 row of tubercles, and also a row of rakers half an inch long, armed on their interior surfaces 

 with a multitude of hook-shaped teeth. The superior and inferior pharyngeal bones are like- 

 wise rough with innumerable minute teeth. 



Gill-covers. — The preoperculum has a prominent semicircular edge, which is armed with 

 irregular tooth-like processes. The rest of the gill-cover is triangular, its apex being a mem- 



