ARMED LORICARIA. 33 



middle into a short hooked spine or curved process: 

 the upper and under parts of the body, from the 

 small or adipose dorsal iin to the tail, are mailed in 

 the same manner, but with smaller plates than on 

 the sides : the tail is moderately large and sharply 

 forked : the beards in this species are six, viz. two 

 on the upper, and four on the lower lip : the colour 

 of the whole fish is 5^ellowish-brown, deepest on the 

 head and back. It is a native of the Indian and 

 American seas. It is a fish of great strength and 

 boldness, and is said to be much dreaded by fisher- 

 men ; the strength and sharpness of its spines 

 enabling it to inflict very painful and dangerous 

 wounds. 



ARMED LORICARIA. 



Loricaria Cataphracta. L. fusca, ordine utrhiqiie scutorwit. 



simplici, cauda roiundata. 

 Brown Loricaria^ mailed by a single row of shields on each 



side, with rounded tail. 

 Silurus cataphractus. S. pinna dorsali posiica uniradtafa, squamis 



ordine simplici, drris sex, cauda Integra. Lin, Si/st, Nat. p, 



506. 



Cataphractus Americanus. Catesh* Carol Append, t. 19. 



Greatly allied to the preceding, but differs in 

 having a rounded tail and in some other par- 

 ticulars : length about ten inches: head covered 

 by smooth, angular, bony plates : the sides of the 

 body with a continued series of strong perpen- 

 dicular, bony scales or plates, each notched in the 

 middle, and furnished, as in the former kind, with a, 



V. V. p. I, 3 



