THE 



WANDERING SILURUS. 



Generic Character. 



Mead naked, large, depreflecL 



Mouth wide, generally furnifhed with long ten- 



tacula or beards. 

 Firft ray of the pectoral and dorfal fins commonly 



ftrong and ferrate d backwards. 



Specific Character, 



SILURUS with a double range of fcales, four 

 beards, and the laft dorfal fin (ingle-rayed, 



Gron. muf. 3. t. 29. fig. 13* 

 Marcgr. bras. 151. 



The beautiful and Varied ftru&ure which diftinguifhes 

 the fcales of fifties, has long afforded an extenfive field 

 for microfcopical obfervation. In fome the fcales are 

 of an oval fhape, with concentric rings of reticulated 

 fibres; in others of a fquarifh form, with the fibres 

 curioully difpofed into dhTimilar patches or fubdivifions, 

 and ornamented at the extremities with a feries of trans- 

 parent aculei or prickles. In fome fifties the fcales are 

 fo extremely fmall as to be fcarce diftinguimable on a 

 curfory -view, and in fome they are not only very fmall, 



but 



