6334 



Fishes. 



longer than the others, marked with a large black spot, but they 

 rapidly get shorter posteriorly, so that the anterior part of the fin is 

 somewhat falcate in shape ; the fin posteriorly is small and reaches 

 to within about half an inch of the tail. Anteriorly to the dorsal fin 

 are six large and long spines pointing obliquely backwards, and ante- 

 riorly to them is another long spine more or less imbedded in the skin 

 which lies horizontally and points forwards. The abdominal is 

 similar in shape to the dorsal ; anteriorly it is marked with a large 

 dark spot, and the fin-rays are there longer than the others ; and 

 anteriorly to the fin are two long and large spines, which obliquely 

 point backwards. The ventral fins are small and close together. The 

 pectoral fins are small and short, and arise on a plane anterior to the 

 ventral, and very near the gill-covers, and about the lower third of the 

 body. 



This fish was taken in deep water, and as it is rolled up in the net 

 and much entangled, it seems to be a species of great muscular power, 

 and consequently it swims with great rapidity. 



Judging from the authors to which I have access, there seems to be 

 much obscurity resting on the genus Lichia and the species included 

 in it. To secure accuracy of representation in the present case my 

 friend Alexander K. Mackinnon,Esq., has kindly taken a photographic 

 portrait of it for me. This gentleman has very liberally and kindly 

 taken the portraits of many of our Cornish fish, and many of them are 

 exquisite specimens of the art. 



Most of the old writers on Natural History, as Aristotle, Ovid, Pliny, 

 Oppian, Athenseus, &c, mention the glaucus ; and Pliny calls it 

 glauciscus, which is supposed to be the same ; but Cuvier doubts 

 whether any, or at least most of those so mentioned, are the same that 

 bear the name at the present time, and he seems also to think that the 

 fish anciently bearing the name was the maigre (Scicena Aquila). 

 Rondeletius appears to be the first author who applied the name to 

 the present species : he speaks of three species of glaucus, the first of 

 which he calls by the provincial name " cabrotte ;" the third of these 

 is figured in Johnston's ' Historia Piscium,' pi. 1, fig. 11, and by him 

 is called sinuosus, and so marked on the borders of the gill-covers 

 with twisted lines. Ray, in his 6 Synopsis Piscium,' considers these 

 as distinct species ; the generic name Lichia here first appears, and is 

 said by him to be the common name of a species of this genus at 

 Rome and Leghorn ; but this he distinguishes from the three of 

 Rondeletius. There seems to be some confusion as to the origin of 

 the name : Rondeletius says it is from its colour, but it is used as a 



