ENGLISH FISHES. 4S5 



Risso's fish had seven teeth larger than the rest, 

 two in front of the under jaw, two in front of the 

 upper, and three longer, crooked and moveable, 

 adhering to the palate. These moveable teeth, 

 did not exist in the Ziphotheca tetradens, nor 

 does it appear that Risso's fish had the two pos- 

 terior fixed semisagittate teeth, belonging to this 

 species. If we attend to the figure and descrip- 

 tion of Risso's fish, we shall find other circum- 

 stances that appear irreconcilable in the same 

 species. His fish has rounded pectoral fins ; ours, 

 acutely pointed : his is described to have 200 

 rays in the dorsal fin ; ours only 105, — a dispro- 

 portion of which there is no instance in the same 

 species =^ : the anal fin of his figure is longer by 

 two-thirds, containing 40 rays, though the de- 

 scription says 22 ; ours has 17 rays f : the oper- 

 culum of the gills consists of two plates in his 

 fish ; in ours only one J. Risso's fish is described 

 to have been covered with silver, reflecting with 

 gold, and shaded with pink and azure ; ours, as 

 well as Shaw's, were of a rich silver. These 

 are differences which cannot be reconciled in the 

 same species : especially the vast disproportion of 

 the rays in the dorsal fin, seems to forbid these 

 fishes being brought together, for as it extenda 



Shaw's fish had 105. t 20 in Shaw's fish, 



t Shaw says one plate. 



