MITCHILL ON THE FISHES OF NEW-YORK. 487 



The tail is almost straight ; that is to say, it is not arched upwards 

 so much as in many of the sharks. Its upper side, extremity, and lower 

 margin, are invested with one surrounding fin. The ash colour of this 

 is sometimes relieved by a blush of red beneath, a fringe of white behind, 

 and tinge of dark at the very tip. 



The skin has no scales ; but a scratching roughness when rubbed from 

 tail to head. Yet when felt from head to tail, the skin is smooth. 



There is a semblance of a lateral line, and indeed of two, a part of 

 the way. 



A row of excretory anals runs from the foremost gill-opening, toward 

 the corner of the mouth. A great number more of these orifices on the 

 lower side of the snout. 



8. Small blue Shark. Grows to the length of four or five feet, and is 

 often taken in our waters by the net, as he commonly bites off the line, 

 if he is hooked. 



It was on a female of this species of shark, that the observations were 

 made which are inserted in the Medical Repository, vol. viii. p. 78. 

 showing that the foetus of this animal connects in the most remarkable 

 manner, oviparous animals with viviparous. 



PEGASUS. DRAGON-FISH. 



Generic character. 



Snout elongated. Mouth beneath. Pectoral fins large. Ventral 

 single rayed. Body depressed, mailed, and abdomen divided into bony 

 segments. 



Pegasus volans. {Flying pegasus.) The specimen I have of this 

 singular fish, is from China ; yet I deem it proper to mention him here. 

 In the jointed form of the body he resembles the syngnathus. In the 



