COMMON CORYPHENE. 213 



avidity any occasional articles of food which may 

 happen to be thrown over-board ; it will even 

 swallow substances of a very different nature ; and 

 we are informed, on the authority of Plumier, that 

 in the stomach of a Coryphene which he examined, 

 were found four iron nails, one of which measured 

 more than five inches. The general length of the 

 i common Coryphene is about three feet > t>ut it is 

 often seen of four or even five feet in length : its 

 colour is a bright and beautiful blue-green, accom- 

 panied by golden gloss, gradually altering into a 

 silvery cast as it approaches the abdomen : the 

 upper parts are marked by pretty numerous round 

 orange-coloured spots : the head is large, but short 

 and compressed ; the lips strong, the mouth wide, 

 and armed with four rows of small curved teeth ; 

 the scales are of moderate size, and the whole 

 body is of a compressed form : the fins are green 

 with a tinge of yellow on the rays : the dorsal fin 

 is continued throughout the whole length of the 

 back. When taken out of the water, the beautiful 

 combination of colours fades as the fish expires ; 

 the lustre vanishing by degrees, with partial re- 

 storations, till at length it becomes of a dull 

 greyish or cinereous cast, without any remains of 

 its former splendor. This gradual evanescence of 

 colour in the dying Coryphene is contemplated by 

 sailors with as much delight as the ancient Ro- 

 mans are said to have exhibited on viewing similar 

 changes in the expiring Mullet, when brought to 

 their tables before the feast besran. 



The Coryphene is a fish of a very strong and 



